thenearshore | 38 - Power Palette Swap

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38 - Power Palette Swap

Who: Everyone!
What: Power Palette Swap Event!
When: April 15th - April 18th 2017 (March 1st - March 8th 2019)
Where: Throughout the Far Shore and Near Shore
Summary: A couple of intrepid magical investigators unknowingly trigger some mishaps among the New Gods and Shinki.

For two weeks, the Ama investigators have been combing the compound where Cultists were dealt a heavy blow by the New Gods and Shinki. Among them, two in particular had been looking to move the Crystal that the cultists had in their basement, the stand that it sat on, and the dolls nearby. Combined with Waver's analysis, Judar succeeds in using his magic to transport the Crystal out of the basement.

As they manage that, a ripple effect washes over the New Gods and Shinki. There is a slight sense of Vertigo for some, a stronger wave for others, and then things start to change...

As It Happens: April 15

Everyone was minding their own business. Perhaps they were on the Near Shore helping complete a prayer, or they were in the Far Shore attending to various godly duties. Regardless of where everyone was, it's around noon when some things start to change. A mild sense of vertigo happens to those who start to experience physical body changes, while a stronger wave seems to wash over the God or Shinki's skin if their powers are changing, or perhaps even a sudden stop-in-your-tracks deadening of feeling if being depowered entirely.

April 16

Later in the afternoon, through no extra effort of the Crystal-movers, a loud noise like a subwoofer kicking into effect issues from within the Crystal, knocking anyone away who was near it by several feet. The one-shot noise reverberates in the ears of all New Gods and Shinki, triggering another change for some. At the Crystal, the black color that appeared when the former Goddess entered the Crystal fills more of it.

April 17

Closer to 7pm, once more, the noise issues forth from the Crystal, louder and knocking people back several yards this time. The Crystal fills with black and grey. Some might swear they can see a face of the white-grey against all of the black, resembling an Inkblot / Rorschach test style picture.

Aftermath: April 18

Around 10am, the black coils from within the Crystal settle down into more of whispy smoke, much harder to see in it. There's a slight tug in the direction of the Crystal regardless of where New Gods and Shinki stand, and with that pull, the change effects go away and all are returned to as they were.

In Summary:

Swap powers with another character!
Gain or lose powers!
Swap physical appearances with another character!
Use or abuse the changes while you can!
Investigate who and what is responsible!
Have fun~

Questions? Leave us a question on the OOC Plotting Post and we'll do our best to answer ASAP.

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Frankly, Takami had been willing to believe that it was some sort of trick, or illusion, or just makeup- he has no idea what Add's deal is, after all. For all he knows, his appearance is similar to what Daikokuten can do. Normal and loud man one minute, giant horrifying spider the next.

...Still... He can't lose any chance to find the master.

"The young master was in the offices with us," he begins slowly, fingers kneading into his palms. "He was going over a prayer that had been given to us. Yet, suddenly, he started to- sway. It's not unusual for the young master to lose his balance or trip-"

He's clumsy as hell, in other words.

"-but this was different. As we were watching, a... stone, or crystal of some sort, begin to form in his chest, and Kimi said that he could see his eyes starting to change. There was also a kind of light coming off parts of him. Before any of us could do anything... A portal, such as the ones you use, opened up beneath him, and he fell through. None of us could follow."

Add nods, following along attentively. He was struck with a disorienting sensation, then, which isn't unlike what Add felt before. It adds up, so maybe the two events really are related...

And then Takami gets to the changes.

Add stares, confusion marking his face as he slowly puts the pieces of that description together. A crystal in his chest, strange eyes, and...

"... What?" he repeats, but this time his tone is less surprised and more a mix of disbelief and anger. That's impossible, there's no way something could— he can understand losing his body and powers, but someone else gaining them? And a native god to this world?

He hisses something under his breath, taking a step back to anxiously run a hang through his matted hair while his already pale face drops a few more shades. This is bad. This is really bad, not even considering what could happen if Ebisu loses control of his powers, but just the possibility of people seeing him like this—

"We need to find Ebisu now." As if that isn't what Takami came to him for, but details. "If he has my body... he's not going to last long if he's jumping through the void carelessly. If he can sync up with Dynamo he might be able to stabilize. Apocalypse might be able to get a trace on him..."

"That's what I'm here for," Takami snaps, always one for pointing out the obvious. For fucks sake, Add. Listen to other people's voice and not your own. Shaking his head, Takami tries to get on track. It doesn't matter how much he doesn't like certain other people outside of the temple, like Hakkai and Add.

What matters is finding out where Ebisu is and helping him.

"Then how do we use Apocalypse?" This is all outside of Takami's area of expertise, being in media and not industry like Aomi, but he's determined to do something.

Sorry, Takami, but Add is still mumbling to himself about this plan to hunt down Ebisu. He tunes back in when he asks about Apocalypse, though, turning back towards his temple.

"Wait here, I'll—" ...and then he trips on his own feet and faceplants into the ground.

Miraculously, he's not injured, though he's definitely cursing a bit. He drags himself over to the steps while he right himself again.

"Ugh, just— just stay here, I'll be right back." It'll probably take a few minutes to traverse the temple's maze by foot, though... if only he had some kind of way to telepathically summon his machines or something.

....Wow. That feels like he's getting some serious deja vu. Takami doesn't even try to help him, just staring blankly at the sudden fall. Yet when Add begins to struggle and make his way back to his temple, Takami starts to quietly follow after him.

At least Add avoids a second faceplant on his way up the temple's spiral stairs. The temple probably looks pretty dull so far, almost abandoned with how overgrown the moss is in some places, but he eventually stops at one of the stained glass windows and sighs when he sees Takami is still following him. What part of stay here did he fail to understand??

But it'd be even more of a pain to try to get rid of him now, so Add settles for a warning. "Try not to get lost, I'm not going back for you," he scoffs. And with that said, he gives the window a quick tap that shatters the world around them.

They fall freely in an empty black void for a few seconds, but it doesn't take long for the illusion to form itself. Add lands gracefully on the cobblestone road leading up to a grand palace... that is currently on fire. In fact, the entire city that's now surrounding them is actively smouldering away, the air thick with the smell of smoke, the sounds of ravenous flames occasionally interrupted by a crash of wood and stone collapsing. This would be a very bad place to be if it weren't for the fact that all of it is just a very convincing illusion. Add frowns, slightly annoyed.

"Apocalypse!" he shouts, not giving two shits about the apparent danger and walking straight up to the palace, shoving the doors open to a dramatic burst of flames.

"You fell on your face. I'm not going to let someone like you-" Well, Takami has a lot that he could say on what he thinks Add is like, and what he thinks he's doing, but then things promptly, how you say, go to shit.

The falling isn't that bad, honestly. It's surprising, certainly, and Takami gives a shout, but it isn't that bad. He flails a bit, trying to find his balance, and stumbles forward once they hit the ground. As the heat and cacophonous sound hit him, he jerks a little with wide eyes focused on the mess around him. "What the fuck," he whispers softly before realizing that he guy he's supposed to be following after is still continuing on. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, Takami hurries after him.

He manages to only flinch slightly at all the fire.

It's petty, but Add really does enjoy the shock and confusion of his guests whenever the temple's illusions kick in for the first time. It helps stave off some of his annoyance towards the gross smell of all the smoke. He doesn't wait around for Takami to catch up, marching forward and into the blaze.

It should be more obvious at this point that none of these flames are real, since Add is just casually strolling through a blazing hallway unharmed. It's uncomfortably warm and they're bound to get coated in ashes, but that's about it. Add sticks his head into a few partially-collapsed rooms along the way, taking seemingly random turns in their winding journey through the palace. So far, nothing.

"Tell me if you see a floating purple cube or a blue slab." If Takami's coming anyway he might as well be an extra set of eyes.

Edited (what is remembering to use the right format) 2019-03-06 06:59 (UTC)

Honestly, even if he knows it's not all real considering Add's reactions- or lack thereof- Takami is still an obvious bundle of nerves as he hurries after the scientist. If it's comparable to many other things, such as ayakashi or Heaven's forces, then this isn't really anything at all. That doesn't really stops his fists from clenching, or the way he jerks at every sound.

But he can't stop here. Not with Ebisu still missing.

"And those will help Ebisu-sama?"

"In short, yes," he says as he brushes some ash out of his hair. If they can find Apocalypse the rest of this should be a breeze. He just has to trust that his temple will lead him in the right direction...

He stops abruptly as they turn another corner. In addition to all the fire, this part of the palace looks like it was hit with an earthquake. There's a massive fissure dividing the building in two, and even with the light from all the smouldering rubble within there's no sight of the bottom. The walls around them creak, wind whipping in through the collapsed ceiling.

Add leans against the crumbling wall with one arm, taking a quick breather.

"Think you can make that jump?" It's at least a couple meters wide and the other end looks even more unstable than the side they're standing on. But it'll probably be fine, right?

What the fuck. Takami's steps stutters for a moment when they turn the corner before he forces them to continue, pausing besides Add. "What's wrong with this place?" he asks quietly, not really expecting an answer. Honestly, it's probably not that important. A temple often reflects its god in some way, so obviously what's wrong with this place is that Henrir is around.

Instead, he focuses on the matter at hand, and takes in a deep breath. "I will." There's no question on if he thinks or not. This is for his god, so he has to. But saying that... Turning to look at where Add is already trying to catch his breath, Takami thins his lips before he reaches over to the god. Excuse him as he starts to bend over and just...

"I'm going to carry you while I do it."

There's a quiet scoff at Takami's rhetorical question, but Add decides to ignore it since he doesn't need to justify anything to this guy. Or maybe he's just too out of breath to argue. The first one makes him sound cooler, so he'll go with that excuse.

The next few words out of Takami's mouth are definitely worth yelling about, though. Add straightens himself up immediately, taking an offended step back from the shinki.

"Like hell you are! I asked if you could do it, obviously I can or I wouldn't be asking!" Or... or maybe he briefly forgot he doesn't have Dynamo with him, so a gap like that went from a cakewalk to a Herculean ordeal. He could barely jump over a waist-high fence, let alone a bottomless fiery death pit. "This is my temple, so I'm the one in charge here! You don't get to make decisions for me. Stop making up such stupid ideas and jump already."

"No." With a tight jaw, Takami jerks his head up in challenge. "You turned around and immediately fell right on your own face. I have no belief that you could make a jump like that." It's almost Ebisu levels of bad, although admittedly Add hasn't tripped since then... But Takami isn't taking any chances. This is his god they're talking about, and he can't afford to have his only lead fall into a pit.

At least he doesn't continue trying to grab Add... Instead, he takes a step back and points to the pace besides himself. "If you can really make it, then jump from where you are to here."

"What the hell, so I tripped? What has that got to do with anything?! I don't have to prove anything to you, I'll—"

He takes a step forward while he rants... and promptly trips over his own feet again.

Takami might want to actually catch him this time, since otherwise Add is taking a swift one-way trip down the hellpit.

The good news is that, for all that he's a jittery mess, Takami has pretty decent reflexes. You know. Even despite the fact that he's often running on minimum sleep. The only reason he's not better at catching Ebisu when the god inevitably trips is because he's overly nervous there.

But Add isn't Ebisu. One hand grabs the back of his shirt, and the other wraps around his waist, yanking him back. Takami doesn't say anything as he straightens up with the god in his grip... Just stares down at him with an expression of complete annoyed exasperation.

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38 - Power Palette Swap

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