✰ text; un: pierrot

[likethelight]

[ Does a person write these like a letter? Allen's never really had practice at those, just (badly) written mission reports. Both seem wildly inappropriate. So... maybe just like he's talking to someone?

It feels slightly less weird that way at least. ]

I don't normally use this, but I'm hoping someone might be able to help me.

The last thing I remember was just after the amphitheater was destroyed. Something happened, and I've been in a crystal of sorts for the last three months. I don't know why. Apparently it's possible to destabilize, and that can happen.

[ LIES. Kind of. He's well aware he massively overtaxed himself and was warned that was possible and is the most likely reason. He just didn't think it could last that long. ]

Apparently a lot of people disappeared during that time too. [ i.e. many of the people he knew are no longer here ]

I'm just looking for some information. If anyone can help tell me what's happened in the last few months, I'd appreciate it.

[ While not anonymous, the post is devoid of his name or anything that would indicate who he is, other than the handle pierrot. ]

Comments

text ; [un:usernamehere]

[omkara]

I've been gone for a long time.

Can't help you. But if someone shares some info with you, pass it along my way. I don't really know what's going on here since I've been gone.

text; lmSDJDhakfds oh no

[likethelight]

[ usernamehere??? man, and Allen thought he was bad at this. ]

I'm sorry to hear that. It isn't easy.

I can do that. How long were you gone?

text ; [un:usernamehere] // guess who's back..back again.. us both evidently! :D

[omkara]

I don't know. The last thing I remember was going on holiday to Nevei.

text ; i'm so happy ;; and laughing at these idiots

[likethelight]

Sounds nice.

[ i.e. foreign concept ]

haha, excellent.

[omkara]

Whatever.

Just let me know what you find out.

text;

[likethelight]

[ While Allen didn't really mean it to be flippant... that response is... hm...

...why is he getting a creepy deja vu kind of tingle? Weird. Also slightly irksome. ]

There's no need to be demanding about it when I already said I would. [ which is very generous of him, btw!! ]

text;

[omkara]

I'm not being demanding, I'm just circling back to my request!

text;

[likethelight]

People usually say you're more likely to get what you want when you ask nicely.

text, un: nike

[purifyings]

Yeah, sounds like you've been gone for a good while.
Welcome back!

[Nike doesn't normally respond to these types of messages unless she knows the individual. She figures a friend would be the best to fill them in. But when she saw the username of this particular message she could not help feel curious about it.

I mean, who calls themselves a fancy version of "parrot", right?

So. She'll just go around to do that. Fill them in to ask about it.]

So before I start writing too much, how much were you informed already? Or has no one said much yet?

[She notices there is a string of messages but is far too polite to read it....sorry, parrot.]

text; un: pierrot

[likethelight]

[ username: nike

username: nike

username: nike

Crap. ]

Thank you.

There hasn't really been anything helpful yet, I'm afraid. I'd appreciate anything you could offer.

text; un: pierrot

[purifyings]

[Oh, their friends haven't contacted them. Well, that's a little rude! Unless their friends are working then all is forgiven!!]

No worries!

I don't know what it's like to get in that state.
But I'm sure it left you feeling overwhelmed to find so much time has gone by in the blink of an eye.

[That is, if getting into that state is like being in a coma without having the power to watch your friend's lives through the emotional telepathy in a dream sequence.]

There was a boy band craze a few weeks ago.
Everyone became huge fans of the group, especially certain members.
Their music was new to me, but it was contagious.
Turns out in the end they were using hypnosis and part of some secret society group.
Two of the members confessed and turned themselves in, I think.
The others escaped.

[If she remembers the news correctly, that is.]

But before that, there was a museum of interesting details about this world.
Monkey statues asking for jokes to prize bananas and requiring them to be eaten in front of them.
A mythological story between a low crossing species.
Their statue was in the museum.
There were more interesting things, but what really stole the show was one of the statues disappearing and creating a magical flood.

[Or something like that!]

Recently a city was destroyed; however one has recently opened its doors.
It's very beautiful the travel to it!
Oh, their specialty is donuts too!
But due to their intense interest in flowers, they lost control of it and stuff has happened!

I think those are the top recent events that caught my attention.
I'm sure your friends will give you more details than I ever could.

[Unless their friends are as dumb as she is, then her condolences.]

text;

[likethelight]

[ Wow that is... absolutely Nike. Wow. ]

That's really thorough. Thank you.

But what do you mean a city was destroyed??

text;

[purifyings]

[And this is where Nike may take her time to respond because the memory of that time may have been distorted for her. She had to think long and hard on it until.]

It may have been a port that got crystallized.
That lion thing that hurt my friend and many others from the time you last remembered returned.
There was very weird stuff that happened at that time.
I'm having a hard time remembering truth be told.
You may wanna ask someone else about it.
Sorry.

text;

[likethelight]

[ Ah... ]

He came back? I see.

It's okay. If anything, I should be the one saying I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you remember anything to make you sad.

Everyone has felt enough sadness already.

Thank you for helping me.

[ Text, thankfully, doesn't betray the guilt he feels. ]

text;

[purifyings]

That's right. He did.

[Hearing the news about him having devoured all the Chroma from all those innocent people while attacking everyone afterward with all kinds of tricks ticked her off. She never had felt so powerless to do anything. No way to defend, no way to help others. All she did was comfort those in the safe zones...]

But it's fine!
The important thing is: he's now gone, I think.
I don't remember the exact details, but everything went back to normal.
He didn't get away with it.
And besides, even if he didn't exist, he wouldn't be the source of my sadness.
So no need to worry about that.
I'm strong.
I'll be okay.

[That's what a lonely person tells themselves, right? To be strong, to believe everything will work out because she can believe in the kindness of others. She has hope in humanity. Nike was used to it now. Her new life. She can't go back on her choices nor feel guilty about them. Or else it'll cheapen everything. So all she can do is be brutally honest about her feelings, no matter how much it hurts.]

And besides, it's hard to be sad when a parrot is being nice to me.
This is the first time I ever found someone with a nickname like that!
How did you end up with it? Are you the type to talk for hours or something?

text, un: birdinthehand

[chichichi]

That's some timing you've managed.

[ Crystallized since Majestas emerged from the amphitheater, hm? She regards the screen a moment, eyeing that handle for the second time now. She already checked it for information about the user and found nothing. Why so... secretive? Perhaps. ]

I'll expect the favor returned should I ever manage something similar, of course.

[ And provided there's an accord struck there, she doesn't mind filling this person in. It doesn't hurt to go over it again at an unplanned time. ]

text, un: pierrot

[likethelight]

You're not the first person to say that. [ haaah... ]

That's fine. It's only fair, isn't it?

I hope it doesn't come to that, but I promise I will.

text, un: birdinthehand

[chichichi]

You have yourself a deal.

[ And considering certain events that have transpired in recent months, it's a very good one from her perspective. Now, where to start? ]

Following the attack on the Elaran Amphitheater, Majestas declared that he'd spare the city for the moment in exchange for his release and disappeared. I'm sure you can imagine the recovery efforts given the magnitude of his attack.

In early February, Majestas' feathers began to fall over Lunatia, getting everywhere and into everything. Those who had prolonged contact were adversely affected psychologically, so instructions were issued to dispose of them with minimal contact. There was a viral outbreak that saw Moonblessed recruited to bolster staff numbers and assist in treating the infected. The beaches exploded with the arrival of fucktopi the Horned Taurus Octopi for their annual mating, which saw an increase in the number of aphrodisiac octopus dishes.

The Lunatian Archives, which houses exhibits pertinent to Lunatian history and culture, was also opened to the public in February. The influx of Chroma in the environment unexpectedly awakened an ancient automaton representative of the female lead from the Legend of the Fisherman's Wife housed there. She wound up flooding several levels of the city searching for her missing lover, but the two were later reunited and the damage was repaired.

Space and time were disturbed in March with people aging up and down and the world around us evidently doing the same. The entirety of Lunatia was plunged into darkness as celestial bodies disappeared and the Lunar Scientia released Chroma-powered lanterns to help the Moonblessed. This seemed to culminate in an attack on the neighboring Port Sylvel. The Moon Knights recruited Moonblessed to investigate, but they were forced to evacuate when confronted by powerful crystal lions with seemingly endless regenerative ability.

Majestas later claimed responsibility for the attack on Port Sylvel and launched an assault on Lunatia to capture Queen Elara. The city was ill-prepared and many people were psychologically effected and began to act arrogantly and recklessly, often mentioning someone -- a "she" they wouldn't say anything about. The Lunar Scientia worked together with a distant kingdom to produce and release talismans to free the effected. Majestas also had Queen Elara perform some sort of ritual at the top of Caelus Tower the results of which I believe we have yet to see, but it doesn't appear to have been anything to empower him. He eventually fell and the Chroma he became revitalized the city. Many people were hospitalized, though, and the clean-up was a large scale affair.

Anti-Moonblessed sentiments arose at that time. They have yet to culminate in more than graffiti, but you should be aware all the same.

The Cult of the Sinless reared their heads again this past month with the boyband known as *BSB, the *Backstay Sailor Boys, as the key players in that affair. Apparently that cult wants to reset the world? Two members defected to Lunatia's side and the rest and a number of cultists were arrested. Kaya and Suzaku, the defectors, have seemingly turned over a new leaf and are supporting Lunatia and the Moonblessed.

Let me know when you've caught up and I'll bring you up to speed on this month. If you have any questions, you're free to ask them and I'll answer them as best I can. I don't have my notes on me at the moment, though.

text, un: pierrot

[likethelight]

[ This is... wow. This is the kind of report that Link always wished he'd write. Maybe they are useful. ]

I guess I missed a lot.

I'm sorry, I had no idea so much had happened. [ Or that it would be that bad, but he should have guessed from the amphitheater. ]

I hate that I wasn't awake.

But what do you mean about a cult that wants to reset the world? Reset it how, or to what?

text, un: birdinthehand

[chichichi]

You must have arrived recently when Majestas first appeared.

[ Talking like that, she thinks. Any 'Moonblessed' who've been on Prismatica for any length of time know the words of caution she often bears, that -- ]

Things happen here. You should prepare yourself now that you've awakened.

[ And isn't that a familiar statement. She'd had to backspace, correct a capitalized word. Still, certain pieces of his language suggest this person is the sort to get involved.

Hm. ]

"Reset" is such simple, soft, naive language.

According to Kaya, the Oracles of the Sinless seek the destruction and remaking of this world. From what I recall of his broadcast, his language suggested members of that cult may be motivated by the less than healthy state of the world and have given up on restoring it. How, exactly, they'd bring about their desired end I can't say just yet or I imagine the Prismal government would be offering me a rather large sum to assist them in nipping the issue in the bud. They're bad news for a planet that's already seen one calamitous affair that seems to have left it in a less than desirable state to begin with.

There is more, by the way. Some seemingly good news after all that that I'd say is actually relevant.

text, un: pierrot

[likethelight]

[ You should prepare yourself. Some things really do never change, huh... How ominous. ]

I did. I don't think it was more than week before he appeared. [ Is it that obvious? Jeez. ]

I wish I could say it's the first time I've heard of a group who believe they can fix the world by destroying it. Ideas like that

[ In his hesitation over how and should he finish that, he accidentally hit send. And there's a long moment before he sends a single message to complete the thought. ]

Ideas like that can lead to war.

[ A pause, and then he sends another. ]

What else is there?

text, un: birdinthehand

[chichichi]

[ Ideas like that can lead to war.

Now there's a statement that sees Setsura pause as she regards her screen. It's a sensible statement more than any sort of naive optimism and she appreciates seeing it there. ]

The newly constructed Inari Highway has been opened between Lunatia and Amegahara, which is where I believe the Oracles of the Sinless originated from due to an internal dispute between the people there. I'm still looking into the details.

[ She still needs to make it out there, establish some connections with the locals and perhaps Moonblessed who may make their homes there, lay some lines to tap like she has in Lunatia. Scratch and dig, that isn't so different than how she's lived to date. ]

It would seem the influx of Chroma is beginning to have what appears to be a stronger effect on the planet itself than what we see daily around Lunatia. There's a new ecosystem in the Nothing along the highway that needs a strong, steady influx of Chroma to sustain itself where nothing but all manner of monsters have been able to sustain themselves in the wildnerness.

Lunatia has some fresh guests as well. A certain species of enormous bee set up hives in the city and their sticky honey has attracted ants and all manner of unusual animals including giant butterflies, snake-sized worms, and the infamous whitesnakes that make their home in the Nothing. They're making a huge mess of things.

Be mindful of that honey, by the way. It's said to be the stickiest substance in the universe and a special lube is required to loose stuck objects.

Getting back to the animal issue, the Lunar Scientia just released a new invention called the B-cube that allows volunteers to catch them so they can also catalog them at a later date. It sounds easy enough. From what I've heard, you just throw it at an animal and they're trapped inside the cube.

Removing the animals encroaching on the city is the first step to clean-up and returning the city to its regular, functioning state. I expect it's going to be an eventful next few days.

[ That, that will tug a small smile out of her. ]

text; un: laurea

[wearingguess]

"Destabilize"? What do you mean, exactly?

text;

[likethelight]

I mean chroma. Do you know how we were warned we might crystallize if we let it get too low?

[ Well, some people put that delightfully ghastly thought in Allen's head at least. ]

I guess it's something related to that. All I know is that happened to me and they took me somewhere for the last few months. When I asked, they said it was to stabilize my chroma.

If I'm being honest, I guess I was never very good about that.

[ funny how it's a lot easier to be honest when you're behind a pseudonym and not face to face ]

[wearingguess]

Oh I see

Why were you not good at it?
Were you concerned about the unpredictable & possibly negative effects of injecting large amounts of potent life energy into a world that is no longer balanced or prepared for it?