[semi-open]

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Who: Add, Rin Okumura, Data-Roxas, Ain, and whoever feels like dropping by!
Where: Henir's Time and Space
When: Later October/early November
What: Making new (old) friends, hanging out, touching some eldritch holes, crying, the usual.
Warnings: Obligatory nihilism/suicidal ideation warning for Ain, will update if needed.

Henir's temple hasn't been left unscathed by the void incident, though the external damage could certainly be a lot worse. The short stone tower looks a bit more worn than it used to, and patches of glowing blue lines trace over parts of the walls and patio seemingly at random. Some of the benches and other decorations have been smashed to pieces—most likely by ayakashi—and pushed off into a corner rather than being replaced. It doesn't seem that important, and Add simply hasn't had the time to do it.

The only other change outside is the field of white flowers that sprung up behind the tower one day. Thousands of white petals are scattered all around the surrounding area, and even the slightest breeze seems to send more flying from the field. Although, strangely, the flowers never seem to lose their petals for long...

The inside of the temple is another story, though the maze of illusions might make it difficult to travel too far without an invitation. The inner space of Henir's temple feels more empty than before, and the blue core in the distance seems dimmer. Subdued. Even the illusions feel a little less real, a little easier to navigate. Are you bold enough to venture inside?


((this is an open mingle for the residents of Henir's temple and anyone who might want to visit them! Feel free to hit me up by PM or at BlueFlewFedUQueen if you have an idea for a thread, or one of the other players idk anything goes))

Comments

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[A - Labwork]

Add is, predictably, most easily found holed up in his lab. It doesn't matter what form the temple's living area has taken on, he always has some space squared away for himself and filled with bits of machinery, shelves full of tools and parts, a big wide desk cluttered with blueprints and whatever else he happens to be working on. There may or may not be a bed in there somewhere, but it's more likely to be used for extra storage than for sleeping. A genius mind knows no rest!

Unless he passes out on his desk, which isn't too uncommon either...

If he's not scrolling through screens of complicated code and data with his dynamos, he's working on a more personal project of his—it looks like little more than a pile of scraps, but the mangled and bullet-ridden Roomba is important enough to him for salvaging. He hasn't done much more than take everything apart so far, but it's a work in progress.

He mumbles to himself as he picks away at his work, barely paying attention to his surroundings. It might take a few tries to get his attention.

[B - Gardening]

Shockingly, Add has been spending a lot of time outside lately. Not just because he's stuck doing community service every week, either, but willingly going outside in the real sunlight without anyone forcing him to. What could possibly have brought on this dramatic change?!

Flowers, apparently. Add is hard at work keeping his pretty little flower field healthy, checking up on it daily and picking out any weeds that crop up, making sure they have enough water and light... although, there isn't as much to do with the cooler weather coming in, but he's making damn sure those plants are ready for the spring.

A bird bath has also been installed next to the field, which Add seems to check up on pretty often. More often than you'd expect for a simple bird bath... but it's definitely an ordinary bird bath. Yep. Nothing to see here.

B

[hellskitchen]

[ Rin always thought that the temple did lack curb appeal. Compared to the other temples he's visited, Henir's was definitely the less inviting. Though the addition of the flowers and the birdbath has made the outside area seem more approachable. Even more surprising is how much he's seen Add tending to the flowers. Somehow, Rin never saw Add as having a green thumb. Maybe it was his knack for building robots that convinced Rin that Add would be disinterested.

So when he sees the scientist among the flowers, Rin decides to go over and ask him about it.]

Didn't take you as the gardening type?

[subtract]

[Add is messing with some sort of panel under the bird bath when Rin approaches. He snaps it shut with a sigh, dusting the dirt off his knees as he stands back up.]

Botany is a branch of science as well, you know. My skills aren't limited to only robotics. [not that this explains why he's taken a sudden interest in botany... but maybe he just likes flowers?]

[hellskitchen]

I didn't know that actually. Then again, I don't know much about science anyway.

[ Botany? Woah, that's a big word. Were they still talking about gardening?]

I didn't think there was anything really scientific about plants. Besides eating vegetables, I don't really like them.

[ The flowers are nice to look at it. They certainly spruce up the place, but other than admiring them, Rin has no real interest. Though, he's certainly curious what it means to Add. Maybe it's nice to see his god outside of his work space, too.]

So, are you doing some kinda experiment, then?

A

[abgrund]

[ ... ain is there.

he's there, some distance behind add and his work, just watching. it's as if he just appeared out of the shadows cast in the corner of the room - which might be true, but it's hard to tell. space itself doesn't quite obey logic in this temple.

he's there, as if he has always been. quiet and still, his voluminous hair draped over one shoulder, flowing down his chest and covering the space where his legs should be. his body ends in a pool of shadows, tendrils scattered over the floor in slivers of vines and hands.

for some reason, his void aura seems dampened here, as if... it's not all present in this pocket of space-time. most of it is sequestered away, somewhere else.

and he will watch, remaining silent and unmoving unless instructed to do something else or go away. ]

[subtract]

[Normally Add is quite good at ignoring everything and everyone around him, but even with the dampening... that aura is pretty intrusive... maybe not dangerous, but definitely distracting. He tries to work around it for awhile, but eventually Add sighs, putting down the screwdriver he'd been using to pry open the Roomba's casing. He looks over his shoulder to stare back at Ain, chin propped up by an arm.

And Ain is looking even less solid than usual today. Add winces slightly, trying not to let his gaze linger on the creepy bottom half for too long.]

... We really need to get you some new clothes. [something that can cover up as much of this as possible] I can only imagine how well you'd blend in on the Near Shore right now.

[abgrund]

[ clothes always seemed like things that happened to other people. though he's conceded to the need for it before, allowing add and roxas to dress him in long sleeves when he went to pick up his own cat.

so he inclines his head. his hair traces out the motion behind him, a waterfall of grey and green ]

Do I... need clothes here?

[ they're not troublesome per se, but they do seem kind of extra to him. ]

A

[cloak]

Roxas is new to the realities of being a shinki, but he's getting used to his surroundings, and that's a start. He's taken to popping up here, there, and everywhere in the temple, although it's easy to get lost. Very easy to get lost. So much so, in fact, that sometimes it takes him several attempts to find himself anywhere familiar. It makes him wonder what sort of a place this is.

He has it in mind to ask, on this day, when he finds Add. It took him four hours, but Roxas has found that unlike others, he simply has no need for sleep. Sure, he's laid there and waited, but nothing happens. By now though, he knows Add does, but seeing him bent over his desk this way, Roxas suspects that he's doing it wrong.

Stepping closer to inspect, he bends to peer at the deity to whom he's been assigned. His eyes are closed, and his breathing is slow, but steady. In addition to that, he isn't moving either. His assessment: Add is definitely sleeping. But he's also pretty sure he is indeed doing it wrong. People are supposed to sleep in beds. That's what they're for, right? At the least, he ought to have something...

Roxas glances around, taking careful survey of the room. Nothing looks particularly cozy in the lab, and he strongly suspects it would take him hours to find this place again, so...well.

As long as Add is asleep, he supposes it's okay.

He shrugs his coat off and drapes this over Add so cautiously it's a wonder he isn't handling something highly explosive. With that task done, he finds himself a stool and takes a seat.

And waits.

Because he's still got a question.

1/2

[subtract]

It's one of the rare nights (days?) where Add has pleasant dreams, lulled to sleep by thoughts of code and mechanical disassembly. Eve is there, and that must be why his cheek is so sore, but despite any physical discomfort he's snoozing away peacefully. Even if she's mad and scolding him for something, he could dream about beautiful Nasods all day long...

He shifts his position a little after a slight weight finds itself draped over his shoulders, mumbling nonsense into his workbench (It's fine, Eve, I said I'd put the heads back on). Besides the initial reaction, though, he doesn't seem to have been disturbed at all. Actually, Add might be sleeping a bit deeper now... so it's probably going to be a long wait for Roxas.

But not even the most peaceful of dreams can last forever. Eventually Add begins to stir, grumbling irritably as the visions fade and he's left feeling sore and a bit lonely. The lamp on his desk is glaring him in the face, making any further attempts at sleep impossible now that he's not exhausted beyond belief. Reluctantly, he cracks open his eyes.

2/2

[subtract]

... and sees a familiar face staring at him.

Add jolts up and immediately falls out of his "chair" as his dynamos try to rearrange themselves into a defensive formation. The coat slides off him as he lands gracelessly on the floor. A few metal nuts and a screw are stuck to the side of his face. Right now he is truly the perfect image of a human disaster.

"How the hell did you— what are you doing in here?!" Add sputters in alarm, his tone an even mix of anger, confusion and embarrassment. He immediately recognizes the person staring at him as Roxas. Unfortunately, in his half-asleep state he's lost track of which Roxases are still around, and the lack of a cloak, hooded or not, is throwing him off. There's at least one Roxas out there that doesn't wear a cloak and almost killed him, so he may be assuming the worst already.

[cloak]

Roxas starts, his shoulders bunching up in the face of Add's reaction. Maybe there are places that he isn't supposed to be in certain parts of the temple, and he's reminded again of the initial reaction Add had to seeing him. Moreover, he had meant to retrieve his coat before Add woke up.

This way, he's much too exposed, and he's acutely aware of it. There's something distinctly uneasy about being watched in this state, which compounds the strange weight in his stomach that Add's waking reaction has promoted. He doesn't know what to call it, but he knows it isn't a pleasant thing.

"I don't know how I get anywhere in this place," he answers finally, his tone even less expressive than usual as he picks up his coat. It was a bad idea, waiting here, he sees that now. Rather than look for Add, he supposes he should have waited until he was needed for something. "...so I was just waiting."

Add might recognize what Roxas doesn't. Assuming he's done something wrong, that leaden sensation is guilt.

[abgrund]

around
[ For those who step foot within the temple, they may hear some sort of faint, haunting song. A whisper of voices from within the temple's depths, not quite conveying words but a sense of unearthly presence. If one seeks out its source, it will emanate from within the distorted space at the center of the temple - perhaps from the core, but not quite.

Ain moves effortlessly within the murky darkness, movements reminiscent of a bird or some kind of fish. His hair billows out behind him, the lower half of his body fading into an immaterial mist; a touch less terrifying than the hollow legs that he would otherwise manifest. Should you need a guide through the maze, he can be called - but mostly, he wanders within the void at his own pace, the song following in his wake.

Sometimes he presses himself close to the core, just a few inches away from the seal placed onto it by the Heavens. No one else can survive to be by his side at this distance, but he can be seen from a long distance away, a black cloud occluding the blue glow of the temple's heart.

At times his cat appears instead, a grey feline with a hind leg similar to his own tangled limbs, watching any passersby with an intense curiosity. Maybe it wants food.

> Engage? ]


wildcard
[ throw me something and I'll roll with it! he's passive but doesn't actively avoid others. alternatively, hit me up on plurk for custom starters! ]

[subtract]

[The haunting melody is difficult to ignore, but it's not something Add is completely unused to. The void does sing, after all, though it'd be more accurate to call it subatomic vibrations between the strange particles that fall the space between dimensions. Most of the noises can't be heard by humans, but they can still be measured and analyzed. Some are even dangerous to be exposed to.

But this one sounds different than the usual fare. He listens for awhile, his mind straying further and further from his work until he finally gives up and ventures out of his comfy illusion. He has a feeling he knows the source, but perhaps it'd be good to check on him anyway...

He ends up having to venture far into the inner depths before he catches sight of the shinki, the light of the core framing Ain's half-formed body in the distance. It's... a bit unnerving, to be going in this far again, and Add almost has to stop himself from going any further. The temple feels so much smaller, and the aura of the void feels weak compared to how intense it was in the core. Surely it's safe to approach with the seal in place. He made it this far before just fine, didn't he?

Still, he hesitates before stopping a fair distance away, not quite willing to approach the barrier. The aura of chaos is still strong, even if its full strength is being held back. He calls out across the dark space.]

What are you doing out here?

[abgrund]

[ Perhaps it's his presence that modulates the void song, given how his soul functions as a key to link it with whatever plane that he now exists on. His form resonates with the imitation void around them, his mastery of this space tempered by a loss of memory and the Heavens' seal, so that the pulse of his heart merely echoes around them instead of twisting reality completely.

The core calls to him, a sympathy that only he can hear, feel in the torn shreds of his current body. The chaos that would nauseate others feels calm against his form, ripples in an endless ocean.

He's not so far gone yet, so he can still hear Add's voice against the void song. However, it takes a few moments for it to register in his mind - he turns, his hair echoing the movement like a cape, single eye oddly luminous in the darkness ]

Why not?

[ It's said with less hesitation than his usual speech. The eye in his chest beats in time with the glow of the core behind him. ]

[subtract]

[Seeing Ain like this... still feels wrong. Ain shouldn't be this tainted with darkness and chaos. The Ain he knows was always a beacon of light and energy, overflowing with positivity. It's still hard to believe they were ever the same person, no matter how far back in the timeline it might go.

But he suits this place better than that Ain ever could. The difference bothered him at first, but if he considers them separately it's not as jarring. Perhaps it's better not to think about the other Ain at all.]

... I asked what, not why. [but, well, maybe the "what" is kind of obvious. Add sighs, allowing himself to drift a little closer.]

I don't know what kind of magic they used to seal it, so... be careful.

[For someone so attuned to the void, it may not be wise to get too close to something designed to tie it down.]

[hellskitchen]

[ Rin is in the middle of doing a bit of training, running outside of the manor,when he spots the grey cat just sitting there. Rin halts, staring at the feline. He takes notice of it's unusual hind leg. He's never seen a cat like that before! He watches as the cat looks to him and meows. It seem harmless enough. Rin isn't the type to abandon an animal, so beckons the cat to come closer. Maybe he can get it to follow him inside. He doesn't know how the cat got inside the temple, but the little guy must have had a helluva trip.]

This way, little guy, this way.

[abgrund]

[ The cat peers up at him before trotting over - it doesn't quite touch the ground; if Rin squints, he can probably see that it's hovering a centimetre above the floor.

When it comes closer, its eyes glow a little in the light. There's a ring pattern inscribed into its iris, grey on green.

Then it meows at him, just once. ]

[hellskitchen]

[ Upon closer inspection, Rin notices a few more strange things about the cat. He has a weird way of moving. He knows that cats are naturally graceful, but this seems like another level. Almost as if the feline is hovering off the ground. The cat certainly have a unusual pair of eyes. Weird...but kinda cool too! It doesn't deter Rin in any way, since he genuinely wants to help the feline.]

It's okay I won't hurt you,little guy.

[ He crouches down, and extends one of his hands towards the cat. A gesture to allow the cat to feel a bit more comfortable with him.]

wildcard

[cloak]

[Roxas is having about as much success at navigating the maze of a temple as one might anticipate. He's discovered that he can disappear from one location and find himself in another quite by will, a flurry of zeroes and ones accompanying each such transit, but he has yet to determine how he reaches specific locales on a first attempt.

Instead, he winds up in random areas, and thus it's not unusual to take hours to find a familiar place. Roxas would deem this inconvenient, were he not uncertain as to whether it's his own failing or an influence of the temple itself.

And so he doesn't complain, simply trying until he finds where he aims to go.

Today, though, he finds himself in a dimly lit room with peculiar cords riddled about the floor. At least, he thinks they're cords, until he approaches and kneels beside one for closer inspection. It tapers off at one end, seeming to extend from the shadows themselves.

After a good moment of thoughtful silence, he taps the thing]

What do these do?

[He asks no one in particular, for he thinks himself quite alone, aside from the niggling feeling of darkness pressing in around him]

[abgrund]

[ it's a good question.

the tapped tendril rises a little, shifting in a manner reminiscent of a snake. some of the thinner cords start to disintegrate into a black mist, filling the room with a slow-rising fog - but it is a gentle sort of fog, as if someone had merely turned on some sort of humidifier for the room. ]

...?

[ someone..... is touching him....?

ain is also in this room, though he's elected to dissolve his body and exist merely as a dense concentration of shadow. what he did not expect is to have interaction.

so he'll wait, seeing if that person will try to poke him again ]

[cloak]

[It seems that these aren't cables after all. When some of them dissipate, he finds it strangely familiar, but he doesn't know why. He glances around the room curiously, assessing the change before his attention returns to the object in front of him.

Since it moved, that means it's alive, doesn't it?

Roxas considers this for several moments longer. If it's alive, he wonders if Add or Ain would know what it is, or what t's supposed to eat. Living things need food, right? For now, though, he gently pats the raised end of this unidentified thing]

Hello there.

[He assumes any living thing might like to be acknowledged or greeted properly, anyway]

[hellskitchen]

[Lost in the Concrete Jungle]

It's been a while, so Rin sort of forgot how to navigate within the illusions. Even if the illusions aren't as strong as they were before, Rin is still easily fooled by them. It seems like he's stuck in a metropolis setting, surrounded by tall skyscrapers. Everything looks pretty ugly with concrete, monochromatic hues, and symmetrical lines. The environment looks pretty similar to Tokyo,but there's something about the area seems a bit off. The metropolis seems quiet and deserted. The only person there seems to be only Rin. The towering buildings also seems to be transparent. Actually Rin can walk right through them, but it doesn't get him any closer to exiting the illusion.

He's a good sport about being lost, but he'll probably need to eat,or go to bathroom at some point. Anyone willing to help him?

[What's Cooking?]

Rin's eager to try out a new recipe. The manor is a bit fuller than it once was,so he has to make sure to make a good amount. A larger quantity means doubling or tripling the recipe. So Rin could probably use some help in the preparation. Cutting up the vegetables, or trimming the fat off the chicken, or even washing the rice. He, of course,can take care of these tasks alone, but it's always much more fun to have someone else around.

If you're not confident enough to help with cooking the meal. Rin welcomes you to drop in and help yourself to his food. Korean Fried Chicken is on the menu. Just beware the food is quite spicy!

cooking

[cloak]

[Roxas is, perhaps not surprisingly, a stranger to the kitchen. But then, he's a stranger to everything, which becomes abundantly obvious as he looks around the room like some strange, exotic tourist destination.

Granted, with his hood right where it always is, the only way to tell is how his head turns one way and then the other.

But he spots Rin busily doing something, and he isn't shy to approach him and see just what it is. The fine art of proper greeting still eludes him however, and so he's just some small, black-clad figure hovering behind him, attempting to peer around him]

[hellskitchen]

[ Rin's deep in his work, so he doesn't notice Roxas right off the bat. He's in the middle of cutting up some vegetables to mix with the chicken. After a while, he starts to feel as if he's not alone. He pauses in his cutting to look around him. At first, he thinks it's just his imagination, until he comes face to hood with the other shinki. It's enough to scare Rin, making him throw up his knife in reflex,and he backs up from Roxas.]

HEY! Gimme some warning next time!

[Then he realizes that his knife is no longer in his hand. Just on cue, the knife falls back down, stabbing into the cutting board, upright. That could have been bad.]

Be more careful, okay?!

[cloak]

Warning?

[He echoes the word with a curious tilt of his hooded head. The knife doesn't appear to concern him, his focus centered only on Rin and his reaction. So far as he knows, he didn't do anything but stand here and watch what the guy was doing...

But Add was similarly upset when he waited for him to wake up. Maybe these two occasions aren't related, but...]

Did I do something wrong?