impacter | TP - WEEK ONE CURFEW - OH GOD NOT THE CHURCH

[He really just looks like he collapsed here from a nap attack behind a pew Family Guy death style and was....sleeping up until now. He's still not moving.]

....Other people?

[Bleh.]

[Someone is stuck in a clergy outfit when he sticks his head overtop whatever pew Lovecraft has stuffed himself again.]

I thought I recognized that voice.

We really need to stop meeting like this, Lovecraft. Your poor back must be in tatters.

Oh, Solomon. You're back from...being eaten.

[Hi.]

My back is fine. I think.

[snrk]

Ah, yes, that devious people-eater. Don't worry, it's been dealt with.

Oh. Okay.

[OKAY WITH RETURNING FROM THE DEAD????]

Why are you...here.

I was curious about something. [if you see him glancing at fandaniel: no you didn't]

It's very late - I'm surprised you're not down at your dorm.

[Also glancing at Fandaniel except his neck sort of. Cracks with this one? It's fine.]

I fell asleep.

[OBVIOUS]

What's wrong with...him?

Oh, what isn't wrong with him?

[Said jokingly.]

Don't worry about it. A little feud between the two of us, nothing more.

[Though it does look like Fandaniel's trying and failing to escape out the doors. Hm.]

Feud...?

[Huh?]

Why are you fighting?

It's not a fight, I promise. Just some personal differences. Plus, he keeps making me so very curious.

In a good or bad way?

In a way. I 'll know it when I see it.

Okay. Just...be careful. He is a god. Was?

[Just saying!]

[Oh?]

Did he tell you that himself?

Yes. He did.

[He tilts his head.]

I'm not...sure if...he was lying.

Hm. I'll just have to ask for myself, I suppose.

Thank you very much, Lovecraft, what a nice piece of info you've given me!

....Okay? You're. Welcome?

[??????]

[yippee more bullying material i mean what]

Ah, by the way.

Could you check your phone for me, please?

[He blinks, before reaching inside a pocket and pulling it out.]

What should I be looking...at?

The forum. Can you see it at all? Any messages from the rest of the school?

[Because Solomon and Fandaniel sure can't.]

[He looks through it...

and shakes his head.]

Nothing at all. How...scary.

It certainly is a change, isn't it...

Mm. Well, keep where you are for now. There may not be much to do right now but wait and see what is happening.

Good evening, Monsieur.

[He said he'd rather sleep so she just didn't bother him. Learning.]

Did you have a pleasant rest?

I did, yes.

[While looking like a crumpled QWOP doll.]

Why are you here, Annette...?

I came to pray. I'm used to doing so at my bedside, but I didn't want to bother everyone we share a room with by doing so there...

[Old habits die hard. Even if the God overseeing them is unkind and perhaps not even her own, maybe somewhere, the God she knows and loves will hear her.]

Though I admit, I didn't expect anyone else to be here this late.

What time is it? Oh bother...

[Did he really not....know...........]

Are you praying to Father? Or a different god?

Just past eleven, I believe.

[Her face scrunches. A complicated question!]

I'm praying to the Father I know, if not the one we've been told about...though they sound to be similar, in so many ways. I suppose I'm simply...praying to whoever will hear me.

Hm.

[What a conundrum.]

And do you think they...will listen?

...I don't know.

[And the admission makes her look somewhat crestfallen. Before, she'd always believed without question that He could hear her, that He did hear her, even if she was not meant to hear His voice.]

I'm not certain I'll receive an answer, either way.

[Hm. He really doesn't know how to reassure her on this.]

Maybe for now you...have to find. Your own answer, I guess.

[ ...what now? He was really just leading Solomon around on a useless chase by shadily wandering the campus late at night, and it ended in the chapel. He's in a suit suitable for mass, thankfully, and not anything clergy-related.

They only need one of those here, honestly.

But since he'd intended to continue on, he's opting to slip out the side doors while Solomon's distracted by the others in the chapel. Only the door doesn't open. He'll give it a push a few times. Nothing. He can turn the handle, so it clearly isn't locked, but— ]

That's interesting.

Edited 2025-08-21 22:40 (UTC)

[Despite how often she has been coming to the chapel, Annette hadn't exactly been intent on ever sleeping here--so it definitely catches her attention when she notices what's happening at the doors. Her brow knits in concern as she approaches, hesitant.]

It's locked? That hasn't happened any time I've been here, before...

[ He tosses a look her way as she approaches and gives a shake of his head. He steps back after one final attempt. ]

Unlocked, from what I can tell. Something on the opposite side is keeping it from opening.

How strange...

[She won't bother trying to test it for herself--it really seemed as if he was giving it an earnest go.]

I can't imagine that we'd be targeted specifically for something like this.

You can never know for sure. Trap a few people in a building, plan something that might bring it down on our heads... or, perhaps, we are merely being kept from meddling in something, hm?

[Well he WAS following up to tease, but when it's clear something's wrong, he's at least knowing better than to make too much jokes about it.]

As much as I'm glad our little chase is over, I wasn't exactly expecting this... the door isn't blocked on the other side, is it?

Interesting how you guessed that so quickly, Solomon. Do you have something to do with he doors being blocked?

As funny as that might be? No, I'm afraid not.

[It's said a little too brightly as he pulls out his phone and flips it open. A beat, and his brow furrows.]

I don't suppose you've lost access to the forum, as well?

[ Lips pursed into a little frown, he digs the flip phone out of a pocket and checks. ]

...no access. Something must have happened.

...

Perhaps the Father is making good on his rules, after all. [Said quietly, calmly, though his eyes are sharp as he traces the space for any other exits.]

Dawn by Friday, I believe, was the time limit on his third edict.

[ The third edict... ]

Ah, of course. Every seven days, on the fifth day, thou shalt kill.

[ Something about that elicits an actual giggle from the man, and it just spirals from there. He laughs. Laughs! ]

Ha! Someone is going to die, and here I am, stuck in some holy building with you instead of having a front row seat to the show.

[Fandan: maniacal laughter now probably echoing really intensely through the eaves
Solomon: yeah that might as well happen, honestly]

I'm sure you'll get over your disappointment.

We're not going anywhere for the time being. If you're that determined to get out and chase death, then help me check the rest of the entryways.

[ Yeah, it wasn't going to take long for the crazy to start peeking through those roughly shorn bangs of his. Hopefully, Solomon doesn't feel too jealous that he won't be the only one to see it. ]

Of course, though I suspect every door will be the same.

[ And off he goes, taking one side of the chapel to do a few door checks. Won't open, won't one, also won't open, nope. ]

[Fandaniel starts making his rounds, and Solomon's expression darkens slightly in turn as he works opposite, even as his hand feels for something against his clergy robes. Damn these costume changes and damn his only item from home being a pathetic excuse for self-defense.

Glances are passed over to Annette and Lovecraft, and his neutral expression thins even further.

Still, he comes up empty at every turn, backing up into the wide space of the altar crossing to take a better look at the windows.]

No doors, then. No way up, either. And I'd imagine the windows are unable to be broken.

We could certainly try, but even that would hold no guarantee of an escape.

[ At least, that's the conclusion he's come to as he returns from his own side of the chapel. Fascinating place, all those nastily familiar paintings on the walls, but those aren't his focus right now. ]

It may be time to make ourselves comfortable for the night. I think we are well and truly trapped.

More than likely.

[Meanwhile, Lovecraft has been oh so kind to blab about Fandaniel being a little More of a being than expected, and ohhhh Solomon is fighting the urge to just swing that bat right at the bait immediately. But Annette is here, Lovecraft is here, and while Solomon is fine if he has to deal with some mess... Now is a poor time for it.]

As much as I know how excited you must be to see bloodshed, I'll have to ask you to refrain. Can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself until morning?

I believe you're the only one here who has actually been violent towards anyone, Solomon.

[ fucking candy cane piece of sh-- ]

So why don't we both agree to behave, hm?

I'd beg to differ. If you didn't like my experiment, you could always just say as much, you know.

[tee hee]

But behaving? Oh, I don't see why not.

Edited 2025-08-22 23:32 (UTC)

There. Then we can both agree on something. Good for you.

I'm glad to hear it!

[:)]

Maybe we can figure out some of these mysterious images all over the walls while we're stuck here, as well.

[ :| ]

Must we?

[ He finds those to be pretty obnoxious, actually, mostly due to how the ones he could attribute to himself only show one silhouette that actually looks like how he currently appears. ]

I doubt they'll make much sense with how they're painted.

None at all?

I know there's a few I recognize, though I wouldn't call them happy stories.

Oh, no. I can recognize them, but you? I daresay they would be as nonsensical to you as yours would be to me.

We could always change that.

How good of a storyteller are you, Fandaniel?

As good as I need to be, should I feel the urge.

[ Well, they are stuck here. ]

Very well. If you can identify any of mine, I shall tell you the tale behind it.

[ ...and he will no doubt demand the same from Solomon later (unless they all black out before then, oops). Then, let the guessing begin! Three paintings that cannot be easily attributed to anyone else in the chapel adorn the wall in a row:

The first is of tall, slender, berobed silhouettes cowering amongst a beautiful yet burning city, stars falling from the sky above them.

After that, a silhouette with a large feathered cap and a cape, as illustriously dressed as the limited shape and palette can manage, gazing down upon yet another ruined city. Once more, stars... falling...

And finally, three silhouettes standing on the edge of a... cliff, perhaps? Beyond them, a world hanging in inky blackness, surrounded by stars. To the left, a slender figure whose stand displays shock, surprise, and to the right, a towering figure with a scythe, and at the center? A man in a tattered robe, arms wide, standing at the very edge of the supposed cliff.

None of these figures are similarly shaped across the paintings. None look quite like Fandaniel, either, considering he has not yet worn his original robe outside the dorm as of yet. ]

[me, an ffxiv player: i hate all these options

He incorrectly guesses a couple, to however much distasteful sneering Fandaniel may want to provide. Boooo, booooooooo. But his third guess has him pointing towards the first image.]

I promise, this will be my last attempt.

[ but they're all such great options so good and happy ]

... [ Sir? ] Are you still merely guessing at random or do you actually believe that refers to me?

It's not as though you chatter much about yourself, so I'll never know for sure if you don't answer me. Or maybe I'll just have to keep asking.

[hee hee hee hee hee]

[ Tch, so annoying, but he'll gaze up at the painting. He knows all too well what that is. It haunted his dreams even before he found out. Well, perhaps this will shut Solomon up. ]

That, you nosy little man-- [ Which is funny since Fandaniel is much shorter. ] --is the end of the world.

[Well.

That does, indeed, shut him up tight for a good few moments, expression growing thoughtful and distant as his eyes trace back up to the imagery. The sky falling like so many distant stars. How frightening a sight, to the normal man.]

Your world? Or one you only knew of?

Would it puzzle you to know the answer is both? My world, but also not. My star's existence is a strange story.

Realms and times existing adjacent to one another isn't new, no.

But who's to say if that's what you truly mean? You do seem to like your mysteries.

Hmm, in some ways, yes, I do mean that, and in other ways, well. That is not this story, but a story that came into being because of this one.

[ Meaning Solomon will not get the following story. Rest in pieces, old man.

Fandaniel steps closer to the painting, attention turned towards it and away from Solomon. He reaches up, running his gloved fingers over the figures, slowly, ponderously. ]

Before the world I know now, there was one before it. The same, yet not. A paradise where mankind could live for as long as they wished to. They played endlessly with their creation magics, making the most fantastic constructs and creatures, ensuring only those that suited the world they wished to see were allowed to be integrated into the wild.

It was perfect, or so my fellows would tell you.

[Where mankind could live forever, hmm?

...]

Man playing god by the blessing of one? Or in the absence of it?

In the absence. God will not exist until man makes God, or so it goes. I suppose there is something poetic there, but mostly I find it tiresome.

Edited 2025-08-27 22:31 (UTC)

Humanity does love to try and find explanations.

[Even if the explanation isn't based in pure truth. Even if they have to craft their world around ideals and stories and legends of things that never existed.]

I take it something tipped a balance to a different sort of change...?

A reckoning always comes for those who think themselves above it, don't you agree? And so it did. That is what the painting shows. The Final Days... of that world, anyway.

...

An apocalypse of sorts, then. But not from a god? [How terrifying.]

Was it named truthfully? Did that turn into their end?

I wonder... But! I believe it's your turn to explain one of your paintings. Besides, who doesn't love a cliffhanger, hm?

[He shrugs. Ah, well, fair enough. May Fandaniel enjoy his turn at some guessing!

The first image is such a deep blue that it almost turns to black, darker and darker as the image works its way down. There is no life breaking up the image, no other color. Only small blue lights that dance at the very top, and the figure at the very bottom, a silhouette barely seen, chained to the rocks.

The second image shows the icon of a sun, sitting amidst the ruins of what used to be a town. Buildings smoke, the silhouettes of bodies lay in the stone. The cliffs in the distance crumble into the sea, and the sky chokes with ash. The sun is bright.

The third image shows the deep purples and reds of a sunless sky, the shape of a massive castle far in the distance obscured in shadow. The hills lay littered with bodies and weapons. And even so, the majority of the image has been taken over by an enormous field of flowers that seems to stretch out like a drop of brilliant, iridescent ink in the grooves of the land, among the fallen soldiers, all radiating from a single point.]

[ Fandaniel, unlike Solomon, does not guess at random. Rather, he takes his time, observing each, until he inevitably points at the one with the field of flowers. Flowers...

He isn't particularly fond of flowers, and yet, that one still draws him the most. ]

This one.

My, you get right to it. Alright.

"Victory Day" is what the demons call that image. A hope for peace and prosperity even during time of disagreement.

It's said to be bad luck to talk to any magic user from the human realm on the day of its celebration.

Edited 2025-08-30 15:15 (UTC)

And why would that be?

[ Fandaniel would think that talking to Solomon any day at all would be bad luck, but you know. ]

Because the war in question was caused by a human.

They say he marched his way into the court of the king of demons and made plenty of demands, requesting cooperation between their kind by demanding demon kind's obedience under his hand.

The king grew so enraged that a war ensued for seven days and seven nights, with the entirety of the king's army on one side, and the human on the other.

[ Surely not. Surely the man is exaggerating. While the painting does indeed exist, how one translates it cannot be without some bias, even when it belongs to their own life, no? He gives Solomon a sidelong look, eyes traveling up and down the sorcerer, sizing him up a little more seriously.

Or could it be...? ]

This human sounds rather arrogant to demand such. What would be gained from it? Did he seek to claim their kingdom for his own?

Wars between the celestial and the demonic had always existed. But humans have never been participants. They were always underfoot. Collateral. Always seen as the party to protect, to tempt, to use. A mortal creation that turned on a different axis, one that would never understand the supernatural.

They would never be equals.

[His smile is light.]

Who's to say why that human decided what he did, though. He never touched the king, after all. Never the people. When his words spurred anger, he merely responded to the power of war in kind with his own. A stalemate of one against hundreds of thousands.

On the eighth day, he vanished. And in the place where he'd held his ground, the entire kingdom burst into bloom.

Edited 2025-08-31 20:10 (UTC)

[ Fandaniel just... stares at the painting, then slowly, so slowly, turns his gaze to Solomon. ]

You know, you could simply say you decided to bully an entire realm into leaving your precious little mortals alone.

[ It had to be him. The painting wouldn't be here if it weren't. Although that he could claim so much power as to fight such an army to a standstill... ]

But that does not explain the flowers, nor why you gave up and left.

Oh please, you can't let me play dumb for just a little while?

[Party pooper!!!!! He sighs.]

It's more complicated than that, and no, I didn't give up. I had a point to make, not a massacre to unleash.

As for the flowers? Mm... maybe I wanted to make sure it was left to memory for more than just the bloodshed? Who knows. I can't quite remember anymore.

Play dumb? My, and here I thought you were merely dumb all of the time.

[ rude ]

Hm, I see. I can't say flowers would be my choice, but... [ Anyway. He merely has no liking for flowers. This place has far too many already. ] What was the point you had, then? Was I correct in guessing it was about your mortals?

Edited 2025-09-03 22:21 (UTC)

[Rude, but it's not the first time he's been insulted like this. So he just kind of sighs and lets it go in one ear and out the other.]

Just humans, Fandaniel, like myself. Unless you're insinuating I'm not one?

Anyway! Yes, it was about humanity, but you weren't quite on the mark about it. Humans deserve peace, yes, but more than that they deserve an equal place at the table. As I said before, they're overlooked and treated as mortal collateral in the eyes of the supernatural. Seen as something weak to protect, not to work alongside.

"If they won't listen to a dialogue of mutual gain, then perhaps they will have to listen to force instead." I think that's what went through my head at the time, anyway. It's not like I went down there to start a war.

[ Unless he's insinuating he is not, hmm? ]

I believe my insinuation would depend on whether or not you consider me a human. I, too, was born a mere man, after all.

[ Are either of them still "human"? Or are they now something apart from mankind? ]

Tell me, Solomon. Is it only you who stands at the table for your humanity, or are there others amongst them that could similarly be equal?

I wouldn't really know one way or another with you, would I? And it's pretty rude to guess.

[Still. His smile grows cheeky.]

Only me. And not without a lot of persistence.

There's plenty of magic users who commune on a personal level. Ones who want and deserve to know more. But most people stay oblivious to the reasons behind their suffering. And even among those that can have a more contractual relationship, the human body will fall apart trying to control more than one at a time. So a threat of power can't come from the masses.

The acting prince of demonkind talks of pursuing more hands to the table. More progressive than his father, I'll admit that much. My current apprentice was actually invited to what was a... "workshopping" of sorts for realm stability.

But even that is fragile. They all see potential and progress, but even with that forward motion, they still do not see equivalents. Humans are still lesser. So I don't plan to back down until that viewpoint has changed.

Edited 2025-09-04 18:10 (UTC)

Ha, so mankind does not sit at the table at all. So much bluster for nothing, Solomon. You and a mere apprentice... How does that do anything? Prove anything? Where are your world's leaders? Lacking any true leadership, it is only natural that they still do not consider you equal.

[ What a farce. All that huffing and puffing and throwing weight around in the past, and for what? Fandaniel can only scoff at it. ]

Edited 2025-09-05 18:03 (UTC)

[His smile is sharp.]

Were they to invite leaders, I wouldn't interfere. But they have never seen the need.

Edited 2025-09-05 18:11 (UTC)

Hmm, and how long have you had to try and convince them since your little battle?

[ Stab him with that smile as much as you like, Solomon. Fandaniel senses a lack of progress. ]

As long as it takes.

Just because they will only budge in small gains doesn't mean I will stop.

Being a patient fool does not make you any less a fool, I fear.

TP - WEEK ONE CURFEW - OH GOD NOT THE CHURCH

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

now in the right place oops

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject