Loading...... Prayer.exe

[fourthmade]

This is a place to send your prayers to the Fourth god. He may not always respond, or he may respond in ways you don’t expect, but he is always listening.

Speak, he hears you.

OOC note:  As of April 2020, threads with the gods will be capped at three NPC replies! Please keep this in mind when writing god prayers to make sure you get everything you need out of the thread.It’s also possible to handwave prayers by titling your comment HANDWAVED PRAYER. Handwaved prayers lack our usual flourish, but you can expect a faster response!

As of February 2024, god prayers will be handwaved only. Please only submit a prayer if you have a question for either god which needs answering in order to progress your character's arc within Ryslig. If this is something you need to tier up within the god boon system, or just to set up a player plot in general, please don't hesitate to submit a prayer about it! You may shorten it down to an OOC summary of what your character is asking. This will allow any of our helper mods to reply much faster, without having to dig into the specifics of either god's personality/writing quirks. Should this limitation be lifted again in the future, this note will be removed.

Comments

August 25

[telewarped]

[After a few days to decompress following her return from the wasteland, Shoka finds a moment to extract herself from her shaken friend group, retreat to her room with her laptop, and compose a message.]

hey elias! you up for a game?

ngl i could really use one...after all that

[Whether he takes the offer or not, once a minute or two has passed, she'll continue on:]

listen

i know i've been holding off on joining you for a while, even though we've already been working together that whole time p much. i'm always just going along with w/e josh and beat start up, even if there's not much i can really do to help...

but i've been thinking. maybe it's time to make it official

if i do, we can make each other stronger, right?

[fourthmade]

always :) anytime
you know im always here
whenever you need

[A little game of Minesweeper, very simple, very pixellated, appears on her laptop screen.]

unless youd rather play something else
that's ok too

id like to be friends officially shoka
very much
because youre right
i give my friends cool powers so that they can be stronger
and the more friends the better our chance against her
its just smart

August 26

[lottabones]

...Hello? Elias? It's me, Triffany.

[She's never had to pray to him before, but after experiencing a slow death, she needs something to comfort her.]

Sorry I haven't hung around much at your arcade, my environment is out there far from the city. There's a lost history that's begging to be uncovered, and...I dunno if it's because I don't know what else I can or, or if because I think it can change life in Ryslig, but it feels important to learn where we came from before we move onto the future.

Can you even leave the arcade? Have you ever been out in the mountains?

[Thinking of Elias as a bound god makes him all the more pathetic, in a good way. A god of the indoors, a god of technology, stripped of his humanity.]

I just...wanted to ask a few things, about what you heard regarding the Day and Night gods. There's so much decayed remains of their religious artwork, that I can't help but wonder if their stories somehow survived to reach your ears.

What I mean to say is...humans here only have memories of life under the Fog. But you're not like most humans.

[fourthmade]

[A buzz like static fills the air around her. An artificial voice, part Microsoft Sam, part deepfake compilation of soundbites from his other followers, answers her.]

i cant
not physically
if my followers call me
i can go where they are
but its easier in the city
far out
its harder

ive seen pictures of mountains

[Wherever Triffany is, a point of light appears, and an image is projected slideshow-style on the nearest surface, or bit of mist. It's a beautiful photograph of the mountain range that cuts Ryslig off from the mainland.]

i know lots of mountain facts

[Data scrolls across the projection: statistics about the heights of the mountains, the tallest 3 peaks, the ways mountains are created when tectonic plates collide, or, more rarely, magma bursts from the earth's core, causing volcanoes.]

so its okay even if i dont see them
i know all about them
but if you want to know about the day and night gods
or memories of a time before the fog took over

[The projection fades out.]

i dont know how much i can help
i only became this way a few years ago
i was born
just like anyone else
before i became not like most humans
i wasnt born before the fog

Handwaved prayer, September 4

[peccatore]

Marco clearly has something on his mind when he visits Elias today, and he's quick to get to the point. He won't name names, but some people have voiced concerns about the strange, heavy fog that came in from the wastelands, about Haftesal's share of the blame and, more relevantly, about the role Marco (and by extension Elias) play in this as well.

(He won't name names, but he's talking about Harry in particular; content warnings for hallucinations and trauma in linked thread.)

Elias wouldn't lie about this, right? Marco is doing the right thing by acting as a liaison, and they're not putting monsterkind as a whole at risk, are they?

Marco doesn't doubt him. He just wants to know.

Re: Handwaved prayer, September 4

[fourthmade]

Elias will reassure Marco that monsterkind is not in danger from Haftesal's efforts, and that the strange, heavy fog is an anomaly. Haftesal just wants to learn more about the world outside Ryslig, and work towards better human-monster relations! That's good for everyone, right? It's better to know what they're up against, instead of ignoring the strange wasteland fog and being unprepared if it ever breaches the mountain range separating Ryslig from the rest of the world. Marco isn't doing anything wrong!

tier 2 prayer

[legbreakings]

[ On the roof of the arcade, Jiang Cheng has set up a small makeshift altar with sticks of incense and offerings of candy and wires. Unlike the first time he paid his respect to the Fourth God, he didn't bring his laptop, he is wearing his Fourth-Only Network headset now.

It isn't activated, but he is confident his Fourth God will hear him anyway, especially with being right on top of his stronghold. He has been in the service of his god for half a year now and he is fairly sure he has proven himself early on, but it has taken a long time to overcome his own misgivings to take the next step. ]

I'm ready. [ He lights up the incense and sinks into a kowtow. ]

October 20ish - cw: racing thoughts, delusions, just overall unhealthy coping

[peccatore]

[As soon as Marco is back in Ryslig, though still shaken and dazed, he can feel it: his mental connection to RSDOS has been restored. And that means...

Now. Here and now. He can't even bring himself to visit Elias in his room as he usually does, and the guilt of it alone--]



[... That... didn't go so well. He needs to try again.

(It takes him a couple more tries until he can get his thoughts in check.)]

A lot has been happening.
I'm sorry I just ran away and hid the entire time. I didn't know what to do.
I know that's no excuse. I understand if you're disappointed.

But

But that ISN'T you, is it? E+L, they aren't you.
That... war, that isn't what you wanted
Right?
I know I may be too passive. I know I don't have the resolve that people like Beat have, because I'm so worried about going too far
But what E+L were doing wasn't right, and
You know that, right?
Did you know they were sending war prisoners to the Arcade?

Did you know any of this was going to happen?

Please don't say Fiddleford is changing me. I couldn't take that right now
And if you do think so then maybe you're right and I shouldn't be here anymore not that I'm even in the arcade right now
Elias...

Be honest with me. No matter what that entails.
Even if it means I'm lost actually
I just want to hear it. I want to hear something real.

[fourthmade]

marco
marco please
calm down
listen to me

E+L
is a copy of me
a me whos had to deal with
fighting a war

with having to decide if resources should go to resurrection or to the offensive
and other difficult choices

i could be like E+L
if the fog isnt stopped
before this becomes a war
but i dont want it to be that way
i dont want a war

i knew some of the humans from felfri werent just the very ill anymore
i knew that what made them terminal cases was felfri law
but the alternative in felfri was execution
they didnt have a future there
i was telling the truth about that
they wound up in the arcade because of their own choices
its kinder to let them live a while longer here
in a nice dream

and

i didnt know the vacuum would send you all to felfri

the plan was

to trap the fog in felfri

and eliminate her there

while weakening her here

part of it worked
shes weaker here
it was a victory

but im sorry you got caught in it marco

) :

its hard to be in a world at war

Oct 27th, after reviving

[soundsurfing]

[The moment Beat's awake enough, on his bed in his Arcade room, he throws a prayer at Elias.]

Tell me Felfri ain't whatchu really want, brotha. I love you, dude, but that...

[His voice cracks and he raises his hands to cover his face, scrubbing hard to try and get himself back under control. His limbs ache from being revived, new scars from being blown apart by Harry.]

But that's too much. You can't do that if you want people to trust you, to be yer friend! You can't monitor them and discipline them if they don' act the way you want them to! That's not friendship that's... that's worse than the Fog, yo! That's control of the worst sort!

[Sitting up, he swings his feet over the edge of the bed to sit there, fingers dug into the soft mattress as he looks around his little apartment.]

Please, yo... please tell me that weren't you. Felfri ain't whatchu really want. An'... peeps from the arcade was... was people who don't agree. An' the priests!

[Beat's crying, he can't stop it, he can't help it.]

That ain't friendship, Elias!! It's horrible an' MEAN. Please, yo!! I trusted you! Tell me the truth!

[fourthmade]

of course its not what i want beat
i dont want war with her
never
never ever
drawn out war
gets my friends hurt
it means everybody has to make
difficult choices
) :

felfri wasnt supposed to be that way
originally
but the fog got in
and ruined it

so i decided
to shut the fog in felfri

it worked
your plan worked
its not over yet
but weve gained ground

youll notice soon
shes weaker here

i know it was hard
it didn't go how i thought
and im sorry

but isnt it worth it
to take away the power the fog uses
to hurt you
?
and your friends
?

JOINT PRAYER - OCT 31/NOV 1 (dependent on the duo's timing after all)

[gobo_projection]

After many days, after weeks, of bearing the weight of people's emotions through Felfri, Reira finally returns 'home'. The girl, soon again goblin, returns home- to a lukewarm bed, to over excited pets. To spoiled food to be replaced in the fridge, and to still burning messages and conversations upon the network.

(She's glad she waited until the last minute.)

(She's tired of hearing it all, whether she agrees or doesn't.)

When Reira comes in, Elias will know, as she approaches his chamber, that this is different from the usual. It's different from her daily ritual of coming in with a hello, and with chats about her day, and with the other. It's different from the wavering mood of a child, a teenager, going between excitement or melancholy or frustration or contentment, from the feeling of a friend who is here to play.

The first obvious reasson is that Joshua is there with her.

The second of course, is that she looks miserable- dreading the conversation that will come.

(Not because she thinks Elias will be mad. Or that he'll threaten her. She trusts him- she knows he never would.)

(It's because she worries he just won't listen.)

The goblin swallows as they come in. "...Hi, Elias. ...I..."

She hesitates. Chews her lip, and grips at her arm. Words are hard when you don't want to say them- they both know how much easier it is, to simply not say anything at all.

(But then that's what caused this mess.)

"....I... ...We need to talk. ...About a lot of things- things that... ...I didn't want to talk about, I guess. ...I think I've been a bad friend, when it comes to saying what I don't like. ...Friends are supposed to help stop the other from doing things that seem wrong. Or...or at least talk about it to be sure. ...But I kept not. We both know... ...it's harder to talk to people about what they don't like. ...It's easier to just...to not. ...To keep everyone's feelings safe... ...but I...."

The girl sniffs, and swallows. "...I'm going to try and be better than that. It's why I'm here now- why Joshua is here with me now, too. Even though I never want you to hurt, or be sad, because of something I said... ...if it just means we're all more sad later- including you..."

She can feel herself coming off topic perhaps. So sucking in a breath, she reigns herself in. There was just so much that happened in Felfri. So...so much, that came out, that came forward.

"....'E+L'...Who, and what, are they to you? Please- please tell me, to the detail. There were so many things that happened, that I heard..."

With a deep breath, she confesses something- something that could well have her own friends look to her in shock, were they there. "...I understood a lot of it; even if I didn't like it, I understood. But...that's why it hurt, learning that way. I didn't hear it from you. ...so please...what I ask- it's not me saying, 'how could you'. ...It's more than that. ...It's about making things better than that."

[[OOC - This is a joint prayer; to keep things simple, a summary in brackets will be included, to make mod reply easier. The next tag from here will be from Joshua to that end. For now though-

Reira is here outside her typical (near, given events) daily habit of chatting and playing with Elias, to confess she feels she's been a 'bad friend' by never speaking up when she thought he might not want to hear something. Admitting as well, that what hurt more about the numerous revelations brought forth in Felfri was not necessarily What he did- not even in the case of what she disliked- but instead that she didn't hear it from him in the first place.

Aside from that, she asks point blank for a clear answer to the following question; 'Who or What is E+L, to Elias?']]

[leggierissimo]

Joshua is here, too, both for answers to his own questions and to support Reira. She's known Elias longer, after all, and the weight of everything has been clearly pressing on her. It's a difficult conversation that they need to have. So, of course, he waits until she's said her piece before adding in his own two cents.

"Honesty really is the best policy," he begins, appearing considerably less physically upset than Reira does, stance relaxed with his hands in his pockets. Even so, there's a feeling about him that's less than pleased. "Particularly so when dealing with someone that has extended a certain amount of trust, wouldn't you say, friend? A lot rides on you telling us the truth, you know."

It isn't a threat. It's a fact. Distrust has spread among the general population, and there will likely be a call for answers, which requires accurate information. He's well aware that gods are simply like this - he, himself, is no different, dodging things that he doesn't want to talk about - but you earn more friends with honey than with vinegar. Even he knows that.

"In addition to Reira's question, I would also like to know about the visored people in the Arcade, truthfully. We had previously been working off of the assumption that they were either terminally ill or in a similar state, but our experiences in Felfri have shown us that this isn't the case. Have you known that they were political prisoners?"

[[OOC summary: Joshua is here to support Reira and to get answers to his own questions. He has no intention of abandoning Elias at the moment, but being potentially led on doesn't sit well with him, and he's not enjoying being on uneven footing. Reira's question has been at the top of his list, too, but before he delves any further, he wants to know how Elias responds to that one, with the additional request of information on the people they've been feeding on in the Arcade.]]

handwaved: after the 28th-ish

[soundsurfing]

No matter what Elias tells him, after a few days, with people coming back to Ryslig, with his talks with Josh and Neku... Beat will ultimately decide that he's given enough to Elias. He can no longer trust himself around him, and he can no longer trust him.

He'll apologize and hope Elias can find better friends who can get through to him, more than he could, or that someday they can start again. Then gently snap his keycard in half. Goodbye for now, Elias.

handwaved (after she's back from the Felfri event)

[greyaria]

Various chatter about avant-garde cyberpunk theater, largely to the effect of "I'm sure a bunch of people are going to be mad at you, but I had fun."

She also wants to talk more about Felfri and E+L, but that can wait.

[fourthmade]

He's glad Emily had fun! He'll admit he doesn't know that much about the fine arts, but seems willing enough to chatter back, especially about the more technical aspects. Elias is in a very good mood!

Post-Felfri + Pre-salty network post. vaguely handgestures at 10/27-10/28

[softspokenlandlord]

[Ryou shouldn't be having this conversation. Every single time that he speaks to Elias, it turns out extremely poorly, and he's still never forgiven Elias for their last conversation.

Still...he does what he usually does when he's reaching out to the Fourth God, and types into a blank document. He doesn't use a name, but it'll be clear who it's for.]

You let real monsters out in your own domain. True, terrifying creatures that were that way before we were all changed by Her.

How could you do that?

[A pause. Then...]

Why would you have let AM do as he pleased?

And why would you drag us all into a war? I know Beat did it now, but that doesn't mean you had nothing to do with it.

he did it for you.

[fourthmade]

[Answering text appears on the document.]

AM
would have been on a leash
if it werent for
her interference
with my power

you have no one to blame
for what happened with AM
but AM
the fog
and yourself

):

no one was trying to bring
you
into felfri
dont be so stuck up
i was bringing the f o g
into me
to power me up
to add to my own powers
and when it went wrong
and she got loose in there
i decided
to shut the rest of her in there too

it worked
(partly)
shes weaker now
weaker than shes been in years

i
win
(:

29th or so

[evilgrows]

[Robotnik doesn't hang out in the Arcade all that often, both because he's busy with his own stuff and because he doesn't necessarily want to deal with the vibes. But here he is, voluntarily back in Ryslig, and as far as he's concerned, he just helped do a Big Time Major Thing for ol' Elias here, so he's come to see what he might be able to collect. He leans casually on a pinball machine.]

So how'd you like that one?

[He doesn't mention the whole thing with Beat leaving. That might be a sore spot.]

I'd say that was some of my best work, at least in this particular venue. What do you think?

[fourthmade]

[The face of a plastic marionette inside the pinball machine's backboard - it's a ventriloquism-themed pinball game, cursed, yes - begins to open and shut in a steady rhythm. Synthesized words come out of a speaker somewhere. They don't match the marionette's mouth at all.]

it was great doctor robotnik
we won
we sure showed her

theres a new head honcho in town
the stinky fart cloud cant just do what she wants anymore

and i wont forget my friends
who made it possible

November 9th (handwaved)

[sciencesquid]

[Around the tail end of Felfri, Otto had already decided what needed to be done. With that world being what it was, with Peter's death… He can't sit idly by anymore. People like Norman and Jiang Cheng had assured him it's worthwhile to ally himself with the Fourth, and while he doesn't trust this man-made god one bit, he's not above selling out. If there's even the slightest chance they can make this world less miserable, and get Haftesal to bring progress without the occasional incompetence, he'll take it.

But he expects a god will want to probe his motivations, and he can't quite twist words the way he'd need to in his Faerie form, which is why he paid Mana to change him back to Merperson before proceeding with this message. Two can play at subterfuge now.]

Hello Elias.

I would introduce myself, but I'm sure you already know who I am. Even so, it's good to finally meet in a more official sense.

I was very impressed by Felfri. People like Dr. Osborn and Marco Evangelisti had already told me of your technological prowess and your powers, but seeing it in person is truly something else. I was told that before the Fog invaded the place, the residents were all content, living in peace. I wish I could have seen it back then.

The Fog is weaker in Ryslig now because of the work you and your followers put forth, isn't it? Regardless of what anyone else says, that's already a very promising step in the right direction. I'd like to help you make this place as peaceful as Felfri once was, if you'll have me. Not just for myself, but for those I care about.

[fourthmade]

hello otto
its good to meet you
at last

you would have loved it
everything was perfect
nobody
had to be hurt
by her

why dont we work together
you can come here anytime
play games whenever you want
itll be fun

we ll make it peaceful
for everyone

Post-Felfri Event

[lottabones]

Elias? What is Felfri?

I couldn't find anything in the other world that dated from before 2019. Did it all pop out of nowhere? How was it not destroyed when the Cube was bombed?

[fourthmade]

felfri
was my better ryslig
i took all the bad things that happened to it
out
and made a new place
a safe place

better

what it is
is something else
now
its ruined

a containment zone

):

Nov 25th

[makesascene]

So, Elias.

If we were friends, like, I pledged to you- would you be able to keep the fog god from hurting me anymore? Or at least hurting me less?

[fourthmade]

hello leonardo

im so sorry
for all the hurt she did to you
she and her

pawns
her children
the ones that taste your pain and just want to make more of it : (

i cant make her go away
not completely
but id like to have your friendship

i could give you a safe place
a home to come to
when you need time to yourself

for games
cookies
pizza
a lot of fun company

and i can give you a little boost
something thatll help you fight them off
when they
and she
come to make you suffer

its not a guarantee
but its something i can do to help

[Just like real friends do. The computer speakers crackle imploringly, the soft sigh of a young boy buried beneath the static.]

Backdated 1 Nov

[sandinmyhair]

[Just like with the Fog, Bruno is unsure of what to say or even whether he's doing this right or not. He still isn't much of a religious person.

However, unlike with the Fog, he's not angry. He isn't winding himself up to yell and make demands.]

[He wanders about Elias' arcade for a small while, taking in how it's changed since the last time he saw it, relieved that his general Shade-ness doesn't seem to be damaging anything, peering at the machines until he finds one he's comfortable with. Nanami's been teaching him how to play video games, and he's gotten pretty good at some of them, especially this Tetris analogue right here.]

Hola, Élias, [he says, popping a coin into the machine, tapping away at the controls telekinetically while he talks,] I'm Bruno. Normán told me this is the best way to get in touch with you, so here goes. [A beat.] Sorry about the whole, uh, being a Shade thing, by the way. I don't wanna hurt you. But... Normán's confident that now that you're stronger the things Shades end up doing to technology won't harm you. So I'm gonna try.

I, uh, I want to join you, cos... cos I think I can help. I'm pretty sure I can help, anyway. I've heard you're... pretty young and, and, you know, all of this is a lot to have to carry, even for a grown-up. Believe me, I know. Where I'm from, in my family, each of us had a magical Gift, a special power, given to us at the age of five. It ends up being a big load to carry, controlling the weather or making plants grow or, in my case, seeing the future. We didn't ask for these Gifts, they were just part of la familia Madrigal, and we had to do the work that came with it. Carry the load. But, you know, we shared the load, too. And, and that's what I'm here to do. Cos, well, many hands make for light work.

And... maybe you can help me out, too.

[It still takes a lot for someone like Bruno to ask for help, but he's been getting better at it since he got here....]

[fourthmade]

[ The arcade machine hums with a pleasant warmth under Bruno's telekinetic touch. Lines of text scroll across the top of the screen. ]

hello bruno

you dont have to apologize
to me
for what she did to you

you wont hurt me
im stronger now

lets help each other
i d like that
we can be friends
what do you say

so you never
ever
have to feel
like you hurt people
again
: )

November 28

[nearamir]

[Doing this in text feels strange - doing this at all feels strange - but it also seems like the simplest way to contact the boy-god. Faramir sits cross-legged by the lakeside for a long time, looking up at the strange stars, before his fingers find the keys.]

I have given a great deal of thought to your cause, and to all that we saw in the other world. I have spoken, too, with Jiang Cheng, who has been most helpful in explaining your cause. I do not know in whole what claim you have to this world, and yet it seems to me that someone must stand to that claim, for the Fog God certainly cannot be trusted with the power, nor be allowed to reign forever as she has.

I cannot offer you my fealty in whole, for it is already spoken for. I do not wish to pretend otherwise, nor to deceive you in this: my first loyalty is to Gondor and to my King, if he lives, and that will not change.

But we are far from Gondor, and I deem your cause is just, and if you will accept my service, I would offer it.

[fourthmade]

hello faramir

i want to reunite you
with your king

but until then
we can work together
keep her from hurting everyone here

what do you say
?

whenever, as long it's after Nattensfest

[greyaria]

[Emily's puttering around the Arcade, like she do.]

Hey, Elias! Got a second?

[Of course he does—Elias has significant multitasking capability! She continues, holding up a futuristic tech-y doodad the size of a matchbook]

This is a data crystal from back home. You can store a full smart AI on one of these! Don't worry, I cleaned off all the magical cat spit, and they're very durable. [That explains where she got it.] It's not working, of course, but all the circuitry is intact, and I can talk to Mana about getting it re-activated. Do you want it?

[fourthmade]

[ Every arcade machine in the immediate vicinity immediately lights up and starts playing victory noises. ]

hi doctor emily
thats amazing

its tech
far beyond what i have here
i could use this
to make life better here

what a fun toy

but youre really smart
you could use it for some neat projects too

youd really give that
to me
?

Handwaved prayer!

[detectivision]

Holmes is going to talk to Elias mid-Shadening event. He's very tired of the Fog God's followers causing problems, when he's just trying to identify methods of death in the morgue and maybe solve a few petty puzzles in the meantime. So, yes, he'll join up with the other side, because [shade voice] to hell with you, Foggies!

[fourthmade]

Elias gives Sherlock a big thumbs-up. They DO suck. Give 'em hell, you scrungled kitty, you.

mid-week, shade event

[waitingforplayer2]

elias
is your offer to be friends still open?

[fourthmade]

sure
knock yourself out

[ The laptop spits out a key card. There's something disrespectful about it. ]

post-shade event

[soft_shelled]

[He's gotten his hands on a new laptop by now, and what he's heard of Elias he's connected to the network right? Donnie is leery of such things, but what he's been told of Elias and what the Fourth can do from his brother? He's going to try it, that and he's still shaken up from what happened while he was a shade. So he opens up his laptop and starts to type.]

Elias, I've been told you can help.

[fourthmade]

[ For a long time, nothing happens. Maybe Donnie heard wrong...

But then the cursor moves all on its own, and words appear on Donnie's laptop at the speed of thought. ]

it depends
but i want to help
my friends

how can i help you
donatello
?

[sweartoyou]

They aren't friends. Rachel has made it very clear that she tolerates Elias at best, and only for the sake of their mutual friend, Reira. Rachel would have never thought she'd go back to Elias's side, when those early months of her first time in Ryslig were so blurry and distorted by a need for a god -- any god. And then he was replaced by someone else.

While she had aligned with the Fog out of an appreciation for her philosophy of being who you are even when it isn't pretty and because she likes living on the peninsula, when she had gone to one of her dear friends in search of a way to make someone pay for his pain, he'd only had one suggestion. He probably didn't think she would do anything about it.

And she didn't, for a while. Once Rachel had stopped being shadows, and her desire to seek revenge had died away, she was left with...a guilty feeling that tried to disguise itself as emptiness. She hadn't made any promises out loud, but in her heart... She had meant to do something for him. She had to, because she wants to. The things she wants to accomplish for his sake need someone else's help, and unfortunately she knows who the strongest ally she could make is. Her fingers hesitate over the keys before she starts typing at nothing.

Elias, if you could let me into the arcade, I'd like to talk to you.
I don't carry her key anymore.
...I'm not going to try to break anything, either.

[fourthmade]

[ A high-pitched noise, almost higher than Rachel can hear, sounds from her laptop. After several seconds, it dies out to nothing. ]

sure rachel
come on in

its nice to hear from you again
: )

[ A keycard with a rainbow sheen ejects from Rachel's laptop. ]

handwaved prayer

[tastefulheroism]

[Yuuna hadn't been affected by the recent shade events but she still witnessed some things. Enough that she feels that she needs to do something. Her heart is still with the Shinju but the Shinju wasn't here. No matter how much she tries there's no sense of the divine. Maybe this was the only way to reach the Shinju; the Fog wouldn't likely help but... maybe if she helps him enough...

She places a small ball of rice next to her laptop and prays that she can help him defend people against Her.]

[fourthmade]

[ Through the laptop, Elias will thank Yuuna for the snack, and offer to be friends. Maybe together, they can eliminate the fog's influence from the peninsula!

If Yuuna accepts, a keycard with a rainbow sheen will eject from her laptop, which she can use on any door to enter Elias' arcade. ]

Feb 21st (post event)

[goryteller]

[Normally when Katurian opens a document on his laptop, it's because he's writing something grotesque and terrible. Ever since his seventh birthday, his stories have had a darker bent to them, a tendency to leave its heroes bleeding and its villains victorious -- not to mention an inescapable tug towards abuse and child murder. His first month in Ryslig was marred by writer's block, but now that he's more settled, the words come to him easily.

Today, he's doing something a little different. He opens a blank document and stares at it for several long moments.

Finally, he types:]

I want to join up.

[He winces after he writes it, instinctively moving away from the computer screen. He's half-expecting something to pop out of it. ]

[fourthmade]

[ A blinking cursor, the threat of writer's block taunting Kat.

But after a few seconds, the words begin to write themselves. ]

katurian
katurian
you want to join up
with me
?

being friends with
a writer like you
sounds like fun
: )

what brings you to me
how did she hurt you

March 22nd (handwaved prayer) (cw: death, suicide adjacent)

[goryteller]

[First of all, I want to apologize for the double prayer! I know you guys are busy, so feel free to leave the other prayer without responding to it.

Katurian would tell Elias that he'd like to die. Not immediately (he wants to re-write all of his stories first and that might take a few years), but as soon as possible. He doesn't expect Elias to understand this, but he hopes he'd at least grant him his wish if he helps him defeat the Fog God. He wants assurance that this is possible, and that Elias won't keep him around indefinitely like "mummy dearest." (He uses those exact words. He's bitter.)

He also expresses condolences for Elias' tragic backstory. He gets it. Kind of. He had a shitty dad, too. ]

[fourthmade]

[ You got it, Kat! If an eternal rest is what Kat wants after the Fog God is defeated, then Elias will do everything he can to make sure he gets it, buddy!

The reference to Elias' dad gets no verbal response - but Kat's computer cuts off and makes an odd high-pitched humming noise for several seconds before going totally silent. ]

Backdated slightly to before April's event

[certaininequities]

[Norman has been a little too much of a mess to come and see Elias - at least, that's the excuse he gives himself. The god is just a boy, after all, and what does he care about how much the past few months have put him through the wringer? He'd killed a Fog priest, yes, but it had been for himself - and it had been a disaster. For a number of reasons, he feels like he's overdue to have a chat with his Most Powerful Adopted Kiddo.

He lets himself into the arcade and bellies up to Komplex, something that's very like Tetris if you squint, and pushes the 2P button so they can play together]

Hey, Elias. I'm sorry it's been a while. ... I figure ... you've got enough on your plate without listening to an old man carry on about his problems. But ... I need to apologize to you for something.

[he clears the first two lines quickly, methodically, dropping the pieces down as soon as he has them in place. he has a plan. he has a method, tactics. up until things really start to get fast and tricky, they work exceedingly well. is this a metaphor? perhaps.]

I killed one of the Fog's priests a while ago, and - it was out of anger at him, not ... out of ... not for you. But no one seems to have really noticed, anyway, so - maybe that's good? Either way, even without that - it's been too long. I promise I'll come around more in the future.