man

[crittersheep]

WHO: lily
WHERE: lily
WHEN: day 63-64 catchall post

[MAN]

Comments

[endsjustified]

[at sOME POINT after Styx vanishes Charon does actually gather everyone together in the barn, because he should actually give them the news he was putting off until Styx...came back...]

You should all know, that a more reliable possibility of going home was unlocked after the last ritual.

[nobetawedielike]

Really? How?

[endsjustified]

If a member of a flock is no longer bound to the pasture, their shepherd can see it and send them home, along with granting them a wish.

[nobetawedielike]

Is that why the sheep took Styx?

[endsjustified]

[his mouth thins]

No. That's something else.

[nobetawedielike]

But he's going to be okay, right?

[endsjustified]

He is being held stable until we find a way to send him home more safely, yes.

Sometimes this happens if someone was dead before they arrived here.

[nobetawedielike]

...I didn't know he was dead.

[mykidisthebest]

[frowns]

What's the catch?

[endsjustified]

It requires all your ties to the pasture to have faded first.

I can...see what that looks like. How bound you still are.

[he's actually checking the state of Lethe's strings. one fear]

[mykidisthebest]

[they are so tangled up man. they're tangled up in like every other person's strings. his strings are triple knotted to Charon's]

How do you think you make ties fade? That sounds pretty impossible.

[endsjustified]

I don't know. But once it happens, I can send you home with a wish granted of your choosing.

[mykidisthebest]

[raises an eyebrow]

Huh. What are the caveats on the wish?

[endsjustified]

As far as I am aware, 'what you want them to be' and 'what the Shepherd will agree to.'

[spinebuddyandme]

Query: How much more reliable?

[endsjustified]

Well, it doesn't require demons, so that's a start.

It's more or less...dependent on the individual, though. There are -- connections, ties, strings, holding you here in the pasture. If they fade until you're free of them, I can send you home.

And, you get a wish granted, when you go. Something to take back with you into your world.

[spinebuddyandme]

A relationship-based tethering magic... Intriguing. I do not have any prior documentation on magic of this form.

I have no need of a wish, however: Ananke is fascinated by the idea.

[endsjustified]

It looks like this, for your records. I can see Lily's, and other shepherds, and Weeds, but not other flock members.

[a little illusion for their eyes only will flicker into life between them -- whatever strings on Ananke Charon is seeing with shep-o-vision are visible on him there]

I'm sure it will take some time for any of us to need to think seriously about a wish; but it's not a bad thing to contemplate.

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Scaranke have so many strings; largely focused in two areas: Ananke's hands and forearms where they've wound around so thoroughly that it looks like he's wearing thick gloves, and radiating into and out of his chest and spine in a starburst pattern. Presumably the latter are connected directly to Scarab's true body.

Scarab leans in to observe curiously, expression shifting like he can't quite decide whether or not he likes this ]

It is not... It appears we have sufficient time to consider, however: I will leave that to Ananke. I do not think he will select one that I find disagreeable.

[papartner]

Seriously? Spill the details, man.

[endsjustified]

If a member of a flock is no longer tied to the pasture, their shepherd can see it and send them home, along with granting them a wish.

We can see the bindings as...threads, or strings. Connections you've made here, and such.

[papartner]

So if I ignore the actual how of how that happens, it seems pretty straight forward. I mean, if you've got your shit sorted, or you just don't care about anything else, huh...

[endsjustified]

I would guess it works that way, yes. Those details weren't...exact.

[aka you can lose the bonds if you're also just OOCly ready to drop this way dwbi]

It's still not going home on command, I know. But it's better than just waiting and hoping at random.

[papartner]

However it works, whatever the reason, at least it's a way. Means there might be other ways, too. It's something, at least.

[endsjustified]

It is, indeed.

[out of curiosity though he DOES switch the vision on for a second. how connected does Acheron look to the pasture right now]