ᵃᵐᵃˡ "ⁱˢˡᵃⁿᵈ ᵇᵒʸ" ᵛᵃˢⁱʸᵃ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thavnairian) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kaisou2022-01-07 11:56 am
thavnairian) wrote in kaisou2022-01-07 11:56 am
Entry tags:
video; un: riftdancer
WHO: Everyone
WHERE: Network
WHEN: January 7th, a few hours after the Libra intro post
WHAT: Amal has been tasked with explaining. Narrative magic usually assigned to silent protagonists need not apply.
WARNINGS: None so far, let me know if I should add some.
[He wrestles with how to approach this for some time, but finally in the evening, he comes to a conclusion: simple is best. Honesty is best delivered face to face, so fuck it-- he sets up the video option, tests it out, and somehow manages to get himself in the frame. Centered? Not so much. Slightly tilted, the camera is full of both his face and mostly bare chest against someone's clean, nice living room, and could use some better lighting.
He looks very out of place, all things considered: wearing barely what you'd call a vest, tattoos all over his skin, and fiery hair and eyes & big elf ears for those who are able to notice such things. His light accent is vaguely reminiscent of India, but not quite.]
Hey there. My name's Amal. Since the cat's out of the bag in a big way, certain people in this city have decided it's time to be honest, and for some reason they chose me. I can't say I'm the best candidate to explain what's going on. All I have to offer you—that is, the people who have been living in peaceful ignorance all this time—is my own personal experiences with it.
[He spreads his arms.] With what, you might ask? Well...
My story begins about half a year ago. I was minding my own business, preparing for what I thought would be a relatively normal journey across the ocean. Making sure I had all my weapons, the supplies I needed, a few changes of clothes... But I never made it there. Before we could even get the passports settled, I woke up in a maze with my things scattered everywhere.
I grabbed what I could and found my way out, since it's not my first time in a weird haunted maze, and ended up face down in the middle of a park. Here. In Kaisou. And I'm not the only one. Someone I know has been here a year, so it's at least been going on for that long.
We're not from this world—none of us transplants are. We're adventurers and... other kinds of people, with magic and without. All stripes. Zodiac approached us and warned us to be quiet when it came to people who weren't aware of the [air quotes] weird stuff going on, and they even offered us a job and a place to stay. Some of us work for them full time, some of us only help them out occasionally, but everyone who's stuck here is pretty familiar with Zodiac... as familiar as you can hope to get with a shadowy organization anyway.
[He rubs at the back of his neck.]
We never really wanted to deceive anyone. It's just that, ah, talking about where we're really from makes us sound totally crazy to you. And I don't blame you—it's hard to wrap your head around new knowledge when it contradicts everything you've ever known. I've been there many times myself.
Some of you might ask for proof, and I don't have a good answer for that. I feel like my ears are proof enough of what I am, but it seems like most people don't mention them for some reason. I can show you my weapons, but they're not super special or anything... And I'm not able to throw fireballs or summon things, since I'm not that kind of fighter.
All I've got is my word. Take it or leave it; it doesn't change what we've endured to get here.
The strange sensation that this might be bigger than you care to understand, the dread of the unknown—all that is natural and to be expected. But if you want my opinion?
Keep an eye on Zodiac. Things are bound to get even weirder from now on.
WHERE: Network
WHEN: January 7th, a few hours after the Libra intro post
WHAT: Amal has been tasked with explaining. Narrative magic usually assigned to silent protagonists need not apply.
WARNINGS: None so far, let me know if I should add some.
[He wrestles with how to approach this for some time, but finally in the evening, he comes to a conclusion: simple is best. Honesty is best delivered face to face, so fuck it-- he sets up the video option, tests it out, and somehow manages to get himself in the frame. Centered? Not so much. Slightly tilted, the camera is full of both his face and mostly bare chest against someone's clean, nice living room, and could use some better lighting.
He looks very out of place, all things considered: wearing barely what you'd call a vest, tattoos all over his skin, and fiery hair and eyes & big elf ears for those who are able to notice such things. His light accent is vaguely reminiscent of India, but not quite.]
Hey there. My name's Amal. Since the cat's out of the bag in a big way, certain people in this city have decided it's time to be honest, and for some reason they chose me. I can't say I'm the best candidate to explain what's going on. All I have to offer you—that is, the people who have been living in peaceful ignorance all this time—is my own personal experiences with it.
[He spreads his arms.] With what, you might ask? Well...
My story begins about half a year ago. I was minding my own business, preparing for what I thought would be a relatively normal journey across the ocean. Making sure I had all my weapons, the supplies I needed, a few changes of clothes... But I never made it there. Before we could even get the passports settled, I woke up in a maze with my things scattered everywhere.
I grabbed what I could and found my way out, since it's not my first time in a weird haunted maze, and ended up face down in the middle of a park. Here. In Kaisou. And I'm not the only one. Someone I know has been here a year, so it's at least been going on for that long.
We're not from this world—none of us transplants are. We're adventurers and... other kinds of people, with magic and without. All stripes. Zodiac approached us and warned us to be quiet when it came to people who weren't aware of the [air quotes] weird stuff going on, and they even offered us a job and a place to stay. Some of us work for them full time, some of us only help them out occasionally, but everyone who's stuck here is pretty familiar with Zodiac... as familiar as you can hope to get with a shadowy organization anyway.
[He rubs at the back of his neck.]
We never really wanted to deceive anyone. It's just that, ah, talking about where we're really from makes us sound totally crazy to you. And I don't blame you—it's hard to wrap your head around new knowledge when it contradicts everything you've ever known. I've been there many times myself.
Some of you might ask for proof, and I don't have a good answer for that. I feel like my ears are proof enough of what I am, but it seems like most people don't mention them for some reason. I can show you my weapons, but they're not super special or anything... And I'm not able to throw fireballs or summon things, since I'm not that kind of fighter.
All I've got is my word. Take it or leave it; it doesn't change what we've endured to get here.
The strange sensation that this might be bigger than you care to understand, the dread of the unknown—all that is natural and to be expected. But if you want my opinion?
Keep an eye on Zodiac. Things are bound to get even weirder from now on.
no subject
[Rean does catch on to the joke, there, but he tries not to laugh past a cursory acknowledgement that it was, in fact, a joke.]
Well, who knows how good of a teacher I'll be, [laughs in canon,] but I'd be happy to at least give you a basic overview! You'll have to be sure to tell me when to shut up about it, though. I know I can talk people's ears off when it comes to that sort of thing.
[And at the last question, Rean just... blinks, wide-eyed and clearly confused.]
Uh, no? I, ah... you do know that monsters aren't really a thing in this world, right?
You can travel between towns just fine, and the worst thing you're likely to come across is a traffic jam.
People can join the military, if they're interested in combat, but even then, that's just in order to defend our country should we wind up at war with another. I don't imagine most of our soldiers ever actually see combat.
no subject
[Monsters... not a thing????????????????????????
??????????????????????????]
Wow... You guys are really lucky. Though it explains the convenient lack of bodyguard jobs going outside the city. I suppose...
[Something clicks.]
And why people were so nervous when I was still wearing my chakrams everywhere.
no subject
[Kay is absolutely down for handwaving Rean's PowerPoint Adventures, is what this means.]
...Yeah, when you put it that way, I guess we are. It's something I think we all probably take for granted... it's just not really anything I've ever thought about.
The worst that ever really happens is sometimes a bear, mountain lion, or coyote will get close to a residential area and then we have to call animal control. But it's rare enough that it's usually only something you hear about, not something you experience.
no subject
[This sounds like an excellent arrangement.]
I can tell you that the towns I'm familiar with are much smaller, so that probably has something to do with it. There's safety in numbers and... strong walls and steel, which you don't find in the middle of nowhere. I bet when this city was just starting out, barely enough to be called a village, the animals were more likely to wander in.