Arrival

[letsplayamod]

The moment is a bit different for everyone. Perhaps you were just minding your own business somewhere, others may have been in more... dire circumstances. Regardless, you were approached by a figure you can't quite picture, and they offered you an accord; in exchange for aiding them in the healing of a world lost to chaos, you would be granted something almost unheard of. Godhood.

And each of you said yes, more or less.

A blurry hand, shifting and rippling, reaches out to you. You feel a glow of warmth, unlike anything you've known before. As soon as you think you can describe it, you wake up.

The room you're in is plainly furnished, but it's about the size of a small flat. Plenty of room to stretch your legs. Don't get too comfortable, however. On the bedside table each room has is a letter; handwritten, it's wrapped around a bronze key. The lettering could only be described as the platonic ideal of 'neat and precise'.

If you are reading this, than our deal has been made. You've awoken in a place that will surely feel strange, so I want you to take some time to acclimate. Meet with the others. Breathe. I shall be along shortly.

-A

Whatever that means becomes more apparent as you step out of your housing and behold the world around you. The building you were in, and every piece of architecture you happen across, is blatantly pre-modern. Yet, something about it is otherworldly. Stone and iron and glass as far as the eye can see.

But above you was where the real questions were. It wouldn't be right to say the sun was shining on you now, nor would it be right to say it's the dead of night. Instead, the sky is a hazy mixture of both, wrapped in suffocating storm clouds that are threatening rain. Everywhere you look, into the horizon, it's the same.

Welcome home. Take your time and explore. Nobody ever said godhood was easy.

Comments

[rockymountaindie]

[ The world is dark and cold and empty, save for a constant oppressive force wrapped around him. There is nothing. He is nothing. Just enough awareness remains for him to know his mistake, forever.

Which is why when something new, something different appears, he reaches out to it with what little he has. The terms, the agreement, it's hazy. The only concrete thought in an endless sea of blackness is just:

I can't leave her alo—


Alex Browning wakes, full aware and alive, coughing up a storm. His trembling hand shoots to the right side of his head and grasps it. Shock flows through him upon finding it fully intact. A dull ache beats in it, but he has no idea if it's real or simply what he expects should be there.

It takes him longer than it should to leave this unfamiliar room. But then, that's become normal for him. After all, outside is dangerous. Outside, there's so many more unaccounted for factors. Outside...

When he does emerge, he is wary, a true bundle of nerves. His eyes dart around, looking for...something. He expects danger everywhere. He edges away from the edge of the buildings. Despite the world around him, he keeps looking up. For a tall, somewhat gangly boy, Alex seems to share more in common with a frightened mouse.

First and foremost: the hero's pavillion. He frowns as he reads over them, having to squint somewhat because he...does not seem too keen on standing near any of the statues. But he does look over them, his own in particular. His lip curls in...confusion? Discomfort? Low and gravely, he murmurs: ]

No, that's... That can't be right.

[ After a long good read over these—committing what he can to memory, everything's important, everything could be a sign—Alex ventures farther out...but at a slow pace. He's always looking and waiting, after all. Expecting something. He won't get too close to the torches. The very sight of them unsettles him.

Despite his painstakingly slow pace, he does eventually make it to the training grounds, upon which he blanches. He glances from the obstacle course to the weapons, growing more and more uncomfortable. ]

Ohhh. Fuck this, this place- no way. Nuh-huh. Nooo, fuck no—

[ Alex quickly backs away. He may run into you, or, if his path is clear, start backing towards the bonfire pit. As he starts to get close to it, he hears the crackle of fire and feels the warmth, spinning around with a start an halting in his tracks. ]

Jesus, shit-!

[ His heart pounds. A hand covers his mouth. Being alive is stressful. ]

Bonfire

[latinumsbetter]

[Quark's been out looking around, and was passing close-ish to the bonfire when Alex startles, and the exclamation makes him look over]

What?! You didn't catch your sleeve on fire, did ya?

[rockymountaindie]

[ Did he? Alex belatedly raises his arm to look, prepared to catch aflame and feel himself burning, again, but— ]

Nn- no, no, I- [ He raises his eyes to look at Quark and grinds to a stammering halt. His eyes bug out a little. ] F- fuck, you're... What... What in the world are you?

[latinumsbetter]

[Well that'll transform his wary, concerned look into a displeased purse of his lips]

What? Never seen a Ferengi before?

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex shakes his head. ]

I-I haven't seen anything but humans.

[ Belatedly, he remembers to shut his gaping mouth. ]

Training Grounds

[sweetsynergy]

[Well. That's sure something.]

[The path is technically clear, but. What if some devious and incredibly business savvy girl were to say, just stick out a toe a bit in Alex's path as he backs up. You know, hypothetically.]

[Or literally, because she's gonna try tripping him to see what happens, I'm sorry even if she isn't.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Well, in his distress and unfamiliarity with having a physical form, Alex would, in this scenario, start to completely tumble backwards, but not without windmilling his arms around to grab whatever he might to keep himself stable!

Which. In this case. Is this devious and incredibly business savvy girl.

So either he grabs what's closest or he absolutely eats shit. Your call! ]

[sweetsynergy]

[Well, she's a genetically engineered super soldier and martial artist with all kinds of programmed instincts and reflexes.]

[So of course the funniest option here is that Alex catches the sleeve of her jacket and down she goes with a startled cry, landing on top of him- thankfully not THAT heavily, but maybe more so than her frame would suggest.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ You're right. That is the funniest option here. Good collab.

As he falls, Alex maneuvers so his other hand is under his head. You have to protect the head. The head is not only vulnerable, but vital. A concussion can disorient you to the point that It won't even need to try to—

Any of his panicked rambly death thoughts are cut off as he smacks the ground and Vanity immediately lands on top of him. All of the air in his lungs rushes out. ]

Ooof- nnnngh.

[ that's all he got rn. ]

Hero's Pavillion

[catsgothistongue]

[Man, this dude looks like he is having a bad day. Sure would be a shame if somebody snuck up behind him without making a sound, only breaking it to ask:]

Which part? Being a hermit, or gettin' investigated by the FBI?

[Hi Alex, there's a pigtailed gremlin standing right beside you out of the blue, taking a gander at the plaque.]

[rockymountaindie]

—Jeesus, shit—!!

[ Alex has accomplished the incredible feat of leaping into the air while turning around and stumbling backward so he smacks his back into the plaque. Ooo, rhyming! ]

Wh-where the hell'd you come from, man, y-you- you can't do that to a guy!

[catsgothistongue]

[Incredible feat for ordinary humans, sure. For Ranma, he's seen and performed greater jumps when he isn't trying to break basic physics. He watches the comedy act unfold impassively, keeping his arms crossed behind his back. Geez someone really needs to work on their spatial awareness]

Clearly I can.

[cuz he just did. :P]

What's got you so jumpy?

[yes he's seriously and sincerely asking that without a smidge of self-awareness present]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Ohhhh, he's glaring something fierce. ]

I've got a fucking healthy sense of distrust for shit I'm dumped in the middle of, that's what.

[ ...He's standing too close to the statue. That could fall right on top of him.

Alex takes a large step to his right, so he's not right against that infuriating statute of himself. ]

bonfire pit

[pariunt]

[Astarion doesn't start, but he does look at the guy with a start when he nearly barrels into him.]

I suppose this place is getting to you?

[The pointy ears on him certainly mark him as something not human, but he's polite enough, if apparently amused by Alex's panic.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Without wasting a second, despite not seeming any more calm, Alex snaps back: ] Oh, yeah, really, what was your first clue?

[ he's stressed :c ]

[pariunt]

Well, running around in a blind panic, for one!

[He says, helpfully.]

I'll admit my memories are rather fuzzy, but I do recall agreeing to this.

[rockymountaindie]

[ This asshole's enjoying this. Alex is a step away from a panic attack, and this guy........ ]

S'not a blind panic if I'm seein' all the things that could fuck me up, alright?! [ He takes a few pointed steps away from the fire. ] That sounds awesome for you, but some of us're a little more freaked out about all th- the implications, a'right?

Bonfire

[cannotunravel]

...don't walk backwards. You'll hurt yourself.

[She was sitting here at the bonfire, and then she had seen Alex just appear from who knows where, backing away. She'd have stopped him if he had gotten too close to the firepit, but still, watch out, Alex]

[rockymountaindie]

Yeah, no shit.

[ He barks out, before very visibly wincing. He has, once again, snapped at this poor girl who is just minding her own business. Send him to jail. ]

I-I mean- I know. I know, it jus'- I got- startled.

[ He's always startled. ]

[cannotunravel]

You need to work on that habit of snapping at me.

[Yeah, since this was the second time she had to make a comment about it, haha]

Sit down for a while. Take a break.

[rockymountaindie]

[ At the very least, he is like. DRIPPING shame. ]

S-sorry. 'm sorry.

[ He takes a few giant steps back, away from the flames, and does just that. ]

Emerge

[taintedfayth]

[Alex certainly is playing the part of a frightened mouse at the moment, and as such a man like Seymour - tall, decidedly non-human and with hands tipped with quite pointed claws - probably is not going to be a reassuring sight, even though he makes no move to do anything threatening. Instead, he holds out his hands a bit to show that he's unarmed, taking a slow and cautious step forward.]

Be at ease, my friend. I mean you no harm.

[rockymountaindie]

[ It certainly isn't a reassuring sight! A challenging retort rises to his lips. ]

I'm not y— [ But it cuts off when he really takes in what he's seeing. Alex's eyes flit from Seymour's hair resembling antenna to his claws, and his breath gets stuck in his throat. ]

Je- Jesus, man, wh-what happened to you?

[taintedfayth]

[That particular outburst makes Seymour's eyes widen just slightly (can he tell?), though he's quick to smooth out his expression into a slight smile as though his surprise stems from the most expected meaning of those words and not something... else.]

You find my appearance unnatural, I assume. [He isn't the first one...] Before you ask, I am not a fiend, nor am I anything otherworldly.

[... debatable, but details that Alex doesn't need to know right now!!

As if to show what he means, he holds one hand out a little more to prove that it is in fact real and solid, just like Alex's own.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ Alex, of course, doesn't quite get it. What does he mean by "fiend" and why does he say it like he should know? He looks from Seymour's face to his hand, keeping his own hands close to his body. ]

Not a- a what?