sheep_game | hello (heart)gamers. im here w some special guest stars

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hello (heart)gamers. im here w some special guest stars

WHO: all who dare enter angie's literal mind palace. it's OPEN HOUSE! no invites needed!
WHERE: in front of miku's salad (and yours)
WHEN: evening 73.

[ in the middle of running a perfectly innocuous miniquest, Angel Devil falls down.
His clothes have twisted away into bone-white rags, leaving a body covered over with only thick swathes of red fur, and downy feathers. His long tail is curled into a tense arc, banded fur standing on end.

The air wavers like he’s a heat mirage, not a man. He’s boiling away with absolutely stupid amounts of arcane power… and, most frighteningly, he does not seem in control of the fact that it is there and being brought to bear. It’s impossible to get any closer to him.

When he speaks, it’s quite timid. ]

Oh.
Oops.
...Thought I had... a little more time.

[ (and in a blinding flash of light, there is the sound of something breaking.) ]

~KRRSHHK~

[any observers will see, strangely see-through and superimposed on the scene, some kind of vast tree, illusionary roots twisting over and around to frame a door. the door itself is wrought of opaque stained glass in blacks and whites and greys; a stylized rendition of Angie in that strangely ragged, feathered form, curled in on himself, eyes closed. Angie himself is nowhere to be seen. ]

instead, a shadow . . . steps into view from behind the door. for a moment it looks like nothing so much as a second genome – then it turns, gaining features and definition with the movement. The monkey tail separates into three plumes; a ponytail unfurls into wings that lift up from the sides of the head.

Teleute(?) is here, dressed in her customary black, but there is colour in her skin, and her hair and eyes are blue. she’s frowning.]

. . . well. This is the least I can do before I go, in exchange for the safe harbor.

[she lifts her head, nodding to any observers, and gestures at the door.]

You’ll want to head in there now if you don’t wish to lose your flockmate, I think. Even the false-death of this place won’t be much help to him, if his soul is left to finish pulling itself apart.

My sisters and I can maintain the way into and out of it for you, but we were not made to knit such wounds by ourselves. Have a care.

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[He lifts a hand to his mouth, swallowing down the sudden feeling of sickness that sweeps through him. The tangible sorrow and hatred in the air feels as though it clings to his skin. What else is there to do but to move onward, though?

Ugh...]

[ an admirable resolve.
but how far will it carry you?
when every breath has to come as a gasp?
when the howling grows so loud it pounds, and then

Stops.

In the sudden quiet he feels the urge to answer a question.

What is the source of your resolve? ]

[Clutching his chest, he tries to catch his breath for a moment. He's exhausted since earlier, and so this is... a lot, actually.

He tries to focus on the question swimming around in his head. The source... of his resolve? He thinks for a moment, breathing harshly.

He... doesn't know. He's never even thought about it before. What drives him? Selfishness, ambition, heart- there are so many different things. So what is usually at the core of it all? What is intrinsically important to it all? He draws a breath. ]

Belief. What I believe, more than anything, is that things can become better. No matter how hard it may be, so long as you do not stop, then even if the path is difficult, a brighter future awaits at the end.

[Hope is the determination of his resolve.]

[ the Mist clears.

interrogating the depths of your heart,
though the darkness shrouds you from sight,
you are identified by that which you choose to champion.
that "truth" of who you are stays with you,
resting on your face...

Gained MASK OF HOPE.

...lucky for you, a mirror to your right with rows of bulbs along its frame lights up, if you want to take a look at what your resolve has wrought. look! it's got lil wingies. ]

Edited 2024-04-17 20:24 (UTC)

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . Lowers it from his face (if able?). What... what?]

[ he's perfectly free to remove his mask, if he wants. The bulbs on the mirror flicker and dim, the shadows around him look deeper and darker, but it seems like... that's all that happens. ]

[ . . . Guess he'll keep the mask on. He'll put it back into place and look around for whatever it looks like he might need to do next.]

[ there's not a lot to SEE... at first.
as his eyes adjust, there it is:
a thin little line of light,

...the very edge of a sliding wooden panel. ]

[ there's sounds of activity from beyond, so you have a sec to consider how you want to go put there.

Once you're ready, though: ]

[ the sharp increase in light is dazzling, at first. As your eyes adjust, and you find yourself backstage of a theatre. the indefinite murmur of a crowd waits beyond the closed curtains. but back here there is only raw potential, meaningless junk, and the tentative bones of stories to come.

and the tree roots, of course. mind that you don't trip. one of the stagehands just did, though the other one that was walking beside them keeps trudging on, completely ignoring the clumsy doll on the ground.]

[ . . . Well, that is rude. He shoots an unimpressed look at the one that walks on while reaching a hand out to the stage hand on the ground.]

Are you all right...?

"..."

[ they seem thankful! and take a moment to fix a now-tilted hat. the doll has somewhat nervous body language, once they're back on their feet. they look either way, then...

walk a couple steps away
turn to look at crescendo expectantly?

turns to start walking again ]

[Oh... does it want him to follow them? He nods in understanding and trails after.]

[ it leads him deep into the guts of the theatre house, where the sound of the crowd is completely stifled.

almost fumbles taking a key out of a pocket, but manages to get it in the lock okay.
...leaves the door open as it goes in.

inside is,
a nest lovingly made out of hay,
and one single glowing egg. it's... huge. whatever's in there is gonna be BIG one day.

the doll sits down and holds it, protectively.]

"...that mask... means...
... you can help... hatch it...?"

[ . . . Does he look like big bird? How is he... supposed to hatch this giant egg? Then again, he has learned a bunch about quails since his arrival here. Maybe he knows a little bit? But...]

Um... how am I supposed to help hatch it? What is inside?

[ blank stare ]

"...A chick?
Don't you... keep them warm?
But our bodies... aren't warm..."

[ . . . . ]

S-So... you want me to hold it?

[ nervously nods. backs up a little bit so he can try, though very warily watching to make sure the egg will still be okay. ]

[His nerves make him nervous. But he reaches out for the egg and carefully lifts it gently into his arms in a sort of hug. Is he doing this right... is this how he should do it?]

[ how long would cres stick with doing this, for the curious. the doll doesn't seem to be reacting as if he's doing it wrong. ]

Edited 2024-04-19 18:11 (UTC)

[ He still stand there for quite a while in silence, before-]

Is...this right?

[He doesn't know how to deal with small things like this.]

Am I warming it properly...?

[ the lil doll finally admits, ]
"I... don't know either...
Raising things... sure is hard..."

Edited 2024-04-19 19:29 (UTC)

[ the egg starts glowing even brighter--
and in Cres's arms, turns into a new mask.

Gained MASK OF PERSEVERANCE. ]

[ =O ]

I do not think this is how eggs are supposed to work.

[But he takes the mask. Experimentally, he'll remove the one he is wearing to look outside of the new one.]

[ you don the MASK OF PERSEVERANCE.
after removing the mask of hope, all the exhaustion you've been through today comes into your mind again more clearly... but with a deep breath, you also feel much more in tune with what you're realistically capable of. and you find...

you can do this. you can handle this. you know it. in your life, you've been through far worse than just some weird labyrinth. with a certainty that goes beyond just hoping you do...

you fuckin' got this, cres. ]

Edited (bgm) 2024-04-19 20:08 (UTC)

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