( closed ) life like the unplumbed sea;

[transmit]

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.

Comments

→ semi-open, june 2024 pre-fight top-levels.

[transmit]

→ city of dreams.

[transmit]

i. everything is (not) fine,

[ 'Going back now means taking a massive risk. Elysium can't help but ask himself: Is he really that attached to the town? Hard to say. Probably not so much that he should risk his life for it. He's only been there a few months. But he also understands that he can't just stand by and watch, can't just wait for the storm to pass. And there's no point in thinking about what he can't do. He needs to focus on what he can do.'

There is black, and then there is shaking.

Literal shaking, as the ground beneath quakes with angry roars. Dusk kicks up, there's a heaviness to the air, and there are distant screams of Catastrophe and to take shelter. They might be more concerning if it weren't for the pressing matter in the sudden splinter of a pillar right next to your character. As the roof above them begins to cave into itself, try as they will, their feet will remain paralysed where they are.

Their heartrate will spike. Their eyes will close. They will brace for impact——but then, there is that nothingness again, until the startling sensation of being yanked.

Next thing they know, they're pressed against Elysium, having narrowly been saved from being trapped under rubble. Despite the side of his arm bleeding profusely from the action, Elysium is smiling down. While the injury is worrying in of itself, there's something else about it that's deeply upsetting from the influence of Elysium's memories, though they won't be given time to contemplate it just yet. ]

Whew! That was a perfect rescue, wasn't it? A judge would've given that ten out of ten. What do you think?

[ Rather than answer that question, perhaps one might want to say—now's not the time, especially with the utter chaos going on in their backdrop. Welcome to the life of a humble shopkeeper, whose body they're now free to move. ]

ii. home is where the heart is,

[ "A city in gray, drab colors. Depressing. Boring. Is that all?"

"I really don't have much to say about that place. It was a simple and boring place to me, and that really is it for me. Home... huh? I wonder what it's like now. I wonder if it's still packed with buildings, and the wind is still so humid, with that salty scent to it? Are the streets there still empty, and everyone there's as quiet as they've always been?

Tell me, brother, do you think we'll ever have a chance to go back, having run away from that place? I don't think I want to go back.

But I can't help but think that, perhaps one day... I'll go back."

A series of vignettes plays from Elysium's memory: from the same gray, drab, city to the Inquisition, a formerly religious organisation that rules Iberia with an iron fist. There's a distinctly suffocating quality to these memories as they ebb and flow from one memory to the next, as characters are both made to bear witness to the persecution of Ægir, a race of marine humanoids, and the general paranoia that's suffused into the population from the resurgence of a cult in the Church of the Deep.

But go back Elysium does, and your character will suddenly find themselves thrust in the midst of a cluster of Seaborn, Elysium's back to them. ]

It's do-or-die. Find something, anything. [ There are rocks, a flowerpot, and an umbrella. The pickings are slim. At least, Elysium is armed with a sword… so it could be worse. ] You gotta weaponize.

[ This memory finds them in the body of Jordi, a caretaker of a local church. ]

ex-stage i & ii,

[ The follow-up option that can be bundled alongside either of the above or be taken separately, if you'd like to have his memories beamed into your character instead. Whether or not he's realised that your character's been made privy to them, he is absolutely and blatantly turning on his heel the moment he sees anyone he recognises.

a.) This will go on for a good week if he isn't chased down. b.) After that? He's back to business as usual. In theory. He might then be caught in one of the many hotel lobbies loitering around their amenities, looking uncharacteristically melancholic. The moment he senses someone approaching, he whips around to hold a bottle of water out, stiff smile in place. ]

… It's important to stay hydrated. [ Ah, geez. He regrets this already. He nudges it forward once, twice, and if it still isn't taken he'll bend down to slide it into their hand. ] Take it.

i

[bemist]

[ You know, this is kind of annoying.

Gebura has been in a few situations where she's been trapped in a different form, or something similar, though it's nothing quite like this. She's in some kind of area where the roof is caving in and, rather than do anything about it, a call to action that she knows she's capable of, she's more or less paralyzed.

And then suddenly she's pulled close against someone and it's Even Worse because there's been a strange kind of familiarity, an emotional recognition to whoever was dreaming this, the feeling of "I shouldn't do this, but I need to." Not something she can focus on right now, not when she recognizes the person who just saved... whoever she's supposed to be. And additionally recognizes there's some other implication to his arm being injured, but regardless--she braces a hand against his chest, leaning back to give him a very unimpressed stare.

Surely just like the NPC Shopkeeper would have done. Surely!! ]

Now's hardly the time to joke, is it?

[transmit]

[ The shopkeeper's expression mellows out from her panic, and that's all Elysium needs to see for his own smile to widen. In another universe, while the shopkeeper might've not leveled such an unimpressed stare, she would have a thing or two to say about his seemingly skewed priorities. Which is to say, it's completely in-line for a reaction he would expect, even if he's distantly thinking about how he's never seen make a face quite like that before.

Priorities! ]

You're right. For the selfless behaviour, I deserve more of an eleven. But come now. Seeing as you have your wits about you, help me round people up. … this sort type of Catastrophe will be on top of you before you know it.

[ Before she so much agrees, he's already offering her a salute before quickly turning on his heel. Then, as an over the shoulder yell: ]

We don't have much time!

[bemist]

[ Good(?) to know he's as energetic as ever, despite the roof coming down on them, but at the very least, it's better than someone who panics and huddles trembling in a corner. People like that are best hauled by the collar, planted somewhere else and told to stay put because she can usually tell at a glance who's going to be of use in an emergency and who's best moved out of the way.

She can be useful here, so she follows him. Simple enough. ]

Just how many people do we need to clear out? [ An entire village? ]

i.

[wheft]

[ catastrophes are common enough in ishmael's world that they don't even come with a capital C. her own body is screaming at her to get out of the way before the building collapses in on her, but she knows it's futile. she doesn't need the dream paralyzing her entirely when her innate prey instinct can do that for her just fine.

but then a flash of white hair and red swoops in just in time, and ishmael blinks owlishly up at elysium's smiling figure, blood dripping from his arm and onto her freckled cheek. she's going to assume that the injury came from the rubble and leave it at that for now. ]

Mm. Could be better. [ a shrug. ] Just... where are we, anyway?

[ also can ely move a little, he's getting way too close for comfort here.......... ]

[transmit]

I suppose you're right. A perfect score would be if I didn't scuff my jacket. [ Is that the problem here? Apparently. ] A 9.5, then.

[ There's a moment in which he looks at her oddly. He doesn't pursue it, though, the fact that they were actively in the eye of an incoming disaster at the forefront of his mind. At least, once he's ascertained that she's stable he'll return her personal space back to her; the tradeoff will be that he volunteers her for something immediately after, though. ]

But save the question, now's not the time. Help me get everyone moving and to the plaza, else this Catastrophe's gonna be on us before we know it!

[wheft]

[ he really wanted it to be perfect, huh. what a loser.

but she doesn't dwell on that for long, nor the way he gave her a strange look just now. she finds herself up on her feet now that elysium's granted back her personal space, dusts off her dress, and looks around the rubble and destruction. ]

Mm, lead the way. Just --

[ well, it'd be strange if a supposed resident of this land doesn't know what a catastrophe is, but ishmael's going to break character for a moment. ]

What kind of Catastrophe are we dealing with here?

what's in a home mini cyoa version hehehehehe

[newphew]

[ gimme the ark knights au!!! i have settled on what's in a home, opt in to body horror and torture and all that. if it's too greedy to get oripathy lore in there as well... hunter can be a wolf or bird person for this i will not ignore the kemonomimi ]

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE

[transmit]

[ but for u, sipp, anything …

This dream takes them to a coastal town by the sea. Elysium, having gone through several of these already, feels his hair stand on end the moment he comes to. It's a familiar scene, but it isn't reliving a memory, per se; it starts as one, it takes the shape as one, and yet, he simultaneously both feels and doesn't feel as if he has control over any part of it as he would if it were.

A nightmare, then. One that he isn't able to give much further thought because it sure did decide to open up with one of his lovelier memories of being tied up and beaten down, surrounded by men in cultist robes. To his credit, he only grits his teeth and bears with it this time—there's little point in mouthing off when he already knows exactly how this will go.

We can say that Hunter just so happens to be by one of the windows and that the dream has subtly influenced him towards the dreamer… At least, there'll be no need for him to personally conduct a rescue mission just yet, as the next thing he'll know, there'll be a crystalline and dragon-like creature puncturing a hole through the building, releasing Elysium and promptly dispatching the cultists.

Staggering out not too soon after: ]

… Hunter? [ oh boy. his face falls into a grim line. it's a dream, but the pain is terribly real. he needs to get his bearings and fast, but that's hard to when around the corner there are shells with legs and giant mandibles coming directly for them. so on the spot, he loops a hand around one of Hunter's wrists and tugs. ] —Tch! Start running!

[ he can be a wolf boy bc being a bird boy is anticlimactic in ak u_u you'd think some of them would get wings, but no… ]

→ city of dreams, cyoa.

[transmit]

( ooc: for the more "lighthearted" memories that can still involve Elysium's condition and commentary on his world if you so desire. Leave me a comment with your character's kemonomimi of choice (this is not an option it is a must, there are no humans in Arknights!!) and I'll customise these on an individual basis based on what parameters you might be interested in below:

I.) RHODES ISLAND TOUR.

• Your character is a new operator for Rhodes Island, a paramilitary organisation, and Elysium is tasked as their tour guide
• A landship that is at least 800 metres long, it's host to all sorts of facilities: a garden for herbs and flowers, acres of farmland for crops and livestock, a school, dormitories, a cafeteria (with a notice board for club postings), bars, a blood bank (we have vampires, btw), an armory, a workshop and robotics facility, storage vaults, stores for non-essentials, a department for literally everything (medical, engineering, fieldwork, human resources, logistics, procurement), and recreational spaces for all ages.
• There is honestly so much. Too much. Everything here is also considered fair game
• But especially of note: an incineration facility to safely dispose of Infected who have reached their end of life without risk of infection spreading and a memorabilia room for KIA operators' equipment
• It's capable of movement, dwbi
• OPTIONAL: This can include any "treatments" and or "screenings" your character may have to go through if you'd like them to get the know for Oripathy, though not all operators on Rhodes Island are necessarily Infected

II.) A DAY IN THE LIFE.

• Your character is either an operator in a temporary squad helmed by Elysium or one of the Infected they're tasked with saving
• Experience their full discrimination, basically. Someone they'd consider a friend or family would quickly turn on them the moment they're considered Infected, and most regions will have them exiled to slums or outskirts entirely
• Oripathy side effects be wild: can dull/damage any of the five senses, affect speech patterns, cause various states of psychosis, mutate body parts (overgrown claws, horns, tails), the sky's the limit if you'd like your character to experience any of these effects or any kind of effects, really, real-time

Just lmk what you'd like! Also, if animals aren't to your liking, there are all manners of fantasy species as well. We can have fun with it! )

[enkefailin]

[i said so on plurk already but placing this here for both of our reference... give me the II option and make netzach a lop rabbit. furry that robot. let him see how things suck in your world, buddy.]

[transmit]

[ Elysium is no Cautus, but there's a commonality between many of the ones that have found residence in Rhodes Island, at least of those who hail from Rim Billiton. A story concocted from Elysium's own memories of what he's seen and heard of their circumstances, nestled amidst rugged terrain, Netzach will find himself in one of its mines, surrounded by peers of his age and younger.

He may realise he's "lucky." Instead of being equipped with a pickaxe, armed with explosives, or made to drive carts towing loads of black ore by the tonnes, he's a safe distance away from the brunt of the work, clipboard in hand in full protective attire. More precisely, it appears "he" had been inspecting the health of these workers, their life expectancies in full display before his eyes. Not many of them will have many years to live if they have any left at all. They spare the occasional furtive glace in his direction. They do not look unwilling, necessarily, but they do appear to bear an exhaustion that's beyond physical. As covered up as they are, there's no hiding the peeks of black crystals on their skin, some more overt than others, spanning entire sections of it or simply dotting along the lines of their necks.

A voice will supply: who'd want to work in a mine willingly? Rim Billiton may employ Infected unlike most other territories, but work such as this couldn't be considered a grace when it all but guarantees a shorter life. The dream shifts to similar fraught conditions in Infected losing work merely because they've developed the ailment, clinics they'd once been accepted at turning them away, and fellow citizens withdrawing from being in proximity, their glances anything but friendly. And yet again, this is considered "kinder," as they're at least permitted to exist in the same space they've always had.

The final cut before the memory settles might be, "Look, I'm just as upset as you that your parents died… but dying of work-related illnesses is how it is around these parts. You have it easy here. Why do you have to go?" Another story, unfortunately, that isn't terribly uncommon amongst the uninfected Cautus in Rhodes Island. The desire for change. For improvement. ]

… Welcome aboard. [ Before him is Elysium, standing bent at his knees with his hand extended out, presumably for him to take to climb into their vehicle. His smile is complicated. ] I heard you wanted wanted to join the research team. They do some pretty incredible stuff! You must be a smart guy.

[enkefailin]

[just how it is around these parts...

well, that might be true. it rings true with what netzach has always known in his actual life, too-- all of this does, making it easy enough to fall into place in this dream. day in and day out, things are the same; people suffer, and are told they're lucky for it (lucky to work here, to be in this position, despite everything).

when netzach blinks and opens his eyes once more, looking at the hand offered out to him, he takes it without much expression at all, gripping elysium's hand so he can climb up.]

Well... I guess I wouldn't expect too much. [he says with a little shake of his head, long ears swaying.] Not that special or anything.

[frostfist]

[ reporting in for my arknights au lupo brawler guard wrio shibari thread ]

[transmit]

[ Because I am a simple creature that knows what it wants and I refuse to give you context when you don't need it:

This memory opens up without decorum. And, it doesn't really need to, when Wriothesley will startle "awake" to a distinct searing in his chest. It pulses from the centre of it and threads uncomfortably through his veins, leaving trails of fire ignited by deposits of ash that intensify by the second. Perhaps against his better judgement (if he's making any judgements at all), the body thrashes instinctively. It yells. It generally makes a mess of things in the clinic he's awoken to, sending a table with various instruments careening as if the actions would serve to quell its condition. But it doesn't, and his attending doctor is left to page for additional assistance when she isn't quite equipped to deal with his current episode alone.

So, the sequence of events is as follows: Elysium, the combatant who happens to be closest, responds to her distress signal with immediacy. There's no subduing him into the bed's restraints when he's already ripped them off, and there's the thought that they should've placed him in a higher security ward, it seems. But Elysium will move to slam him onto the ground and his front; in an active struggle, there's no consideration for being gentle, only effective, preventing further harm to any involved parties. If he ends up with a cut lip… oops.

Conveniently, what Elysium he has on his person by means of effective restraining is rope. Holdover, presumably, from an earlier mission. His knee will dig into Wriothesley's back considerably, arms pulled back and held against him. It probably won't be an easy task keeping him down, but… you know how it goes. If he has to exert more force, he will. ]

Behave a little, won't you? [ That sure is his voice directly behind the shell of Wriothesley's ear. ] The nice lady won't be able to treat you if you're this rowdy. Don't be any naughtier than you have.

[ to shibari or not to shibari … anyway, yeah, assume that there's some paranoia effects or what have you, we live free ]

[frostfist]

[ It may be the movements of the dream he's following, but Wriothesley's never liked being tied up. There's too much danger inherent to being bound and restrained, left with no defense other than the sweep of a leg or the sharp bite of his canines. Somewhere in the midst of it all, the dream struggle becomes real, his instinctive urge to be free taking over. The pain doesn't help, and only fuels the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

He fights Elysium, torso twisting on the ground as he tries to buck the other man off him and legs trying to kick back. His lips pull back in a sharp grin, voice raspy and low with exerted effort. ]

If you really want naughty, you'll have to get me into bed first.

[ He means the medical cot laid out but like. If the others in the room want to take it another way, that's their prerogative. Anyway, there's your yaoi. ]

Is this how you treat all your patients? Your bedside manner could use some work.

[ 0/10, would not recommend. ]

[yuwon]

[ i am but a sims who is controlled by ly, so vampires & give me the treatments & screening. i need that sweet oripathy lore alongside every single ability in arknights explained to me in essay format. thank you. ♥ ]

[transmit]

[ Vampires: a subspecies of Sarkaz that are proficient in blood-related arts, often characterised by their pointed ears and red or pink eyes. That's Yuwon now, and I shall graciously give you the option of choosing between Sakuma Yeong or Sakamaki Shuwon as his new government-assigned name.

But yes, not to detract from the main point—vampires. Few in number comparatively and rarely come across in the wild due to their nocturnal nature. Even within Rhodes Island, there exists only three in a population of over two thousand. Elysium is familiar with one in operator Closure, their local engineering specialist, but to use her as a standard would be disingenuous in more ways than one when she couldn't be more apathetic towards her vampiric heritage. That left operators Warfarin and Midnight, both of whom he's had little exposure to… so one would imagine that a vampire au born from Elysium's knowledge of them would be every bit the stereotypical description of one.

So if Yuwon awakens to this memory with an insatiable and seemingly unquenchable by conventional fluids thirst, that is not my fault nor is it Elysium's… it just be like that. Everything's justified—especially this scene, which opens to the two of them standing in the corner of one of Rhodes Island's many corridors, his hand in Yuwon's mouth, his fangs punctured through skin. ]

This makes it, what. The second time? I told you before that I'm not on the menu, operator. [ His voice is eerily cool despite their circumstances… one can presume that were it not for the hand blocking and physically trying to push Yuwon's mouth back still, that they were in a more precarious situation moments ago. ] Don't tell me you needed a sterner warning?

[ you only get the lore if you make it through this ]

[yuwon]

[ why are these the only two options here...

that said, whatever his title is, or even what name he currently possesses seems to entirely escape him. the thirst he feels consumes him entirely, and all he can think of is the blood that flows beneath the man's skin. even as the blood flows out, he discovers himself unfulfilled and unquenched. the desire feels like it burns up within him, and so he grabs his wrist tightly, digging his fangs in without any regard to potentially causing the man pain, snagging onto his skin and widening the gap for him to suck blood out of.

he places his tongue over the puncture wound, savoring the decadent taste of blood; savoring the thickness and smooth, velvety texture that sticks to his lips and tongue. it takes him a minute to regain his senses, or even realize that elysium is speaking to him. he removes his mouth from his hand momentarily, ] Fuck. [ it's a word more in realization to what he's doing before he tightens his grip on elysium's wrist. he's more upset at not being in control of himself than anything else. ]

If you're not on the menu, then stop dangling your body in front of me. [ with this said, he releases elysium's wrist, pushing it out out of the way as he steps in closer, enough to push elysium's back closer to the wall. his leg slips in the space between elysium's. it's clear, yuwon might actually be the one sending him a warning. since you wanted throwback, kabedon is the only answer. but, really...

with the initial disorientation dying down, he's wondering what the hell happened to be in this situation. ]

[penaltypoints]

[ I am also here for Oripathy Lore and to make fluffy ears canon as discussed on plurk, before Elysium is exposed to projmoon trauma. ]

[transmit]

[ Felines! Beloved for their fluffy ears and their equally as fluffy tails, Yesod will find himself sporting such features as he comes to. Of note might be the perfectly flesh body they're attached to, but that's much less exciting, isn't it?

In any case, there are no memories to supply him where and why. Only, a recognisable face in Elysium standing right next to him with his palm atop his head. What it's doing there in such an overfamiliar fashion is what he might want to ask, but that question will be answered soon enough as Elysium's fingers may or may not be idly scritching those new ears of his… Elysium will swear that he's not doing it for himself when from the room's accoutrements all but spell that they're in a clinic. A means of soothing him, perhaps?

Whether Yesod chooses to startle (justifiably so, this could be harassment??) or accept his fate, the silence doesn't drag on for long. ]

Five minutes until your exam, and then we'll have you right out of here. [ As he comes to, Yesod might note that the new body he's controlling is exceptionally parched and famished. A natural presumption could be, then, that it's for this supposed "exam." Beyond that… there may be a heaviness to his chest that he won't be able to put a label to quiet yet, aside from the fact that breathing might not come as easily as it's supposed to. ] Have you thought about what you'd like your reward to be yet? The sky's the limit, new friend!

[ a beat, ] … To an extent, anyway. Haha.

[ It's likely that they're close in age, but what matters is that Elysium is his senior in experience, and so, he reserves his right to treat Yesod as his junior… or something. It be like that. ]

cw: forced medical examination references

[penaltypoints]

[ The sensations are a flood of input engulfing him, far beyond anything that his sensors are equipped to detect, some foreign because he hasn't felt them in a long time, others even more so because he has never experienced them before. It's overwhelming, distracting and disorienting. Yesod tries to focus on something to keep himself afloat and find his bearings, fingers pressing their nails into his upper arms as his brow furrows for the weight of Elysium's palm atop his head, the disconcerting tingle of nerve endings responding to the touch concentrated on his ears. His second set of ears...?

It's not unpleasant, exactly — even the way that his skin prickles can't be described as truly uncomfortable — but he is entirely unprepared to wake up to someone petting him like an animal, as if the concept of personal space doesn't exist. Elysium's announcement triggers a reflexive reaction that Yesod himself recognizes as irrational: his body tenses all the more, at the ready to recoil.

His surroundings rouse a strange remembered unease, enough for his pulse to quicken. This body's apparent breathing difficulties worsen with it, though there are no restraints in sight, and he isn't who he was a long time ago, cornered and trapped. Today's imminent examination is clearly intended to address a physical illness, presumably nothing contagious.

Still, his tail flicks restlessly, and so do his ears. His voice sounds strained. ]

...My reward...? What will the procedure involve?

[hitokiller]

( can i have a crumb of ii featuring a rescue squad. please and thanks. )

[transmit]

[ i've made the executive decision to endeavour not to menace izou too much in his memories, so here, elysium shall commit the brunt of his crimes in his own… or so i say now, because we'll have to see how it pans out exactly.

In any case, when Izou first comes to, it'll be to a downpour. The slums of Lungmen aren't kind to anyone, populated by Infected exiled from the main city. Means of finding coverage will prove difficult, and Izou might choose to wander around lethargically, he might not. Wherever he goes, especially if it's towards the city proper—he'll face looks of scorn, of fear, of disgust. Their military power doesn't take kindly to Infected within the city, so he might not want to try his luck when he's unarmed. Even from fellow Infected, who fear their condition would worsen just by being in proximity of another will shy away from speaking with him. The general feeling they seem to exude is that

Regardless, wherever he does end up, his sight will eventually go dim. Not a part of the memory, but rather, the underlaying conditions of the body he's found himself in. His chest will feel tight and he'll find it difficult to breathe. In the midst of one of the many alleys, perhaps, pelted by unceasing rain—oxygen will only come in shallow pants until he loses consciousness.

The next time he awakens, it's not as if he's faring any better, exactly. But where no one had dared to come close to him before, there are hands reaching around his shoulders to cover him with an oversized coat of certain fashion, its hood pulled up to the top of his head. Before him is Elysium, smiling bright with no recognition in his eyes—and of note, is personnel with similar branding of clothing all around him. ]

Oh! 'Morning. [ … ] I won't ask how you are because it's obviously not well, but will you walk or do I need to carry you on my back?

[ the body is weak, yes, but he could theoretically hobble along…??? ]