farawayplace | joy on helixmas morn (even for domeists)

Entry tags:

pc: alice (domeinion)

joy on helixmas morn (even for domeists)

[1) Alice's Lab]

[In the days leading up to Helixmas, or Christmas, or "whatever you want it to be" as Dr. Unoya put it last year, Alice can be most often found in her lab in the Shrouded Woods. She's currently cleared off one of the bulletin boards and is mulling over what's best described as a conspiracy wall, with yarn connecting photos of the different Legendaries that popped up over the past year, news articles about the Malamar incident at the last Harvesting Bonds Festival, copied texts about the festival in general, and any reports of evil-team activity she can possibly find. You may come in to her pacing back and forth, focused on the board, until Hyperbug buzzes and Alice turns around.]

Oh! Sorry, you gave me a start! Did you need something?

[2) Turnbloom Market]

[But, well, it is multiple gift-giving holidays, and even if Alice doesn't celebrate any of them, it's always good to appreciate your friends. To that end, she's made the trek to the biggest centre on the island a few days before to do some more last-minute shopping. She looks over a hand-knitted Wiki plush and hums.]

I know all the textbooks didn't go over well last year, but what does everybody want?

[3) anywhere]

[Alice has the determination of a scientist and three team members who know Fly, so she'll head out to find you and deliver your gift herself! Don't be surprised if she shows up wherever you happen to be. Don't worry, it isn't programming textbooks this year. Probably.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He winces at the mention of "Dynamax." It's been unfortunately tainted now, by the actions of the possessed Kalosians. Still, he supposes it is technically a neutral thing.]

It definitely sounds worrying. Is there any specific pattern to these phenomenon? You mentioned holidays, but have they occurred at other times?

That's the odd thing, it has almost always been major holidays or festivals. Feast of the Sail in February, for instance, has all kinds of similar counterparts in other worlds, so when Manaphy appeared and swapped people's bodies on that day, the connection was there. Then Children's Day, Tanabata, Harvesting Bonds... which leads me to believe that we're due for something strange, and it might be on or around Helixmas.

Helixmas? [He says it with some confusion, but he's not being particularly interrogatory about it.] What happened last year?

Or Winter Wonder, or Christmas, or a few other things, it's fascinating how different worlds with completely different histories have similar holidays around the same time despite different origins for them -- anyway! Apparently, there's a tradition around that time for Delibird to deliver presents, and last year, we also saw Articuno blanket the island in snow. Overall, benign changes, but I'm worried this year.

Articuno? Really? [His face and voice both soften as he imagines that scene. Even if it's obvious this is a timeline that's gone very differently...part of him still wishes he could see that.]

Right! It was fascinating. I know I've seen a lot of once-in-a-lifetime sorts of phenomena, divine and not, but I'd always wanted to see Articuno. Maybe you'll see it too someday.

[He nods.] That would be nice. I'm sure Brinda would be happy to meet them too.

Of course! They seemed fascinated when I talked about it with them once. I think anyone would be interested in legends like that! Or at least I'd think so, but you never do know with people. And knowing the kind of world you're from, it's no wonder you'd want to see a different way things could have turned out.

[He nods.] It's...still so strange, sometimes, to look around this place and see how different it is. How peaceful. It's been over a decade since the God-Hunters first attacked, and we're still rebuilding.

Brinda told me a little about them. My world -- well, my world before me, before it was scrambled and reset -- had something vaguely similar, but the more I listened, they don't seem the same at all. The Godslayers at least did some good, even though I can't approve of what they did to achieve it, and I know they felt they had no choice. What were your God-Hunters even after?

[His expression darkens.] Their leader-he was actually contracted to a Legendary himself. Missingno, the Usurper, who wanted to tear down all the other gods. It gave him the power to disrupt the legendary revival cycles, and to fight them so effectively in the first place.

Wait. Missingno. That's... a form of OLDEN, isn't it? The glitch illusion of many forms? Our version caused a lot of trouble, too, but suffice to say it was neutralized and then became able to ascend with the others. And in your world, things didn't resolve so smoothly.

["Smoothly" is an overstatement, maybe. Just ask Evan, who nearly died, or Azure, whose body it stole, or Paul, who saw reality break down around him and also got haunted. But in the end, OLDEN was brought around by a little girl who wanted a friend. It seems not everyone can say the same.]

...I don't remember it going by that name. Although "glitch illusion" certainly feels like an apt description. And in our case, to "neutralize" the threat, we had to, well...eradicate it completely. [At least he hopes it's gone for good.]

...I see. I never met it, but I definitely saw what it could do. In a world where it had bad intentions, I can understand why... especially if it did that much damage. Anyone would go to that extent to stop someone like that.

[Nathaniel nods.] We'd heard rumors that some of the God-Hunters were still active, having recruited new members, but we never actually ran into any of them. Even if they were around, I'm quite sure the loss of their patron would have weakened them greatly.

I'm sure. Even if it were able to revive, and it sounded like it couldn't, that can take hundreds of years. Not always, but with Cover it was different, its domain being life and all, although Descartes would have a better explanation for that, I only observed it secondhand...

[She pauses. Adjusts her glasses.]

I hope I'm not overstepping, I know curiosity about this kind of thing can be intrusive. But since you've talked about being involved in fighting the God-Hunters and their patron, and I've noticed something else about you -- well, that other thing might not apply to everyone, especially given the existing gulfs between your experience and mine, and between most people's and mine, for that matter, which is odd considering almost all the alternate dimensions I was privy to or witnessed before Ultern at least had the fossil pantheon or an idea of them, at least if they had Pokémon at all -- anyway! I was getting to something, wasn't I? Right. Active role in setting the world to rights, specifically metaphysically, and you look younger than a parent of a child that age would -- of course, there are plenty of mundane reasons that might happen, too, but given I'm in the same position, not aging, that is...

[She runs out of breath, takes a deep gasp, and takes off her glasses for a moment. Even if she still looks about 14, her expression is older.]

Forgive me for asking, but are you contracted with a god as well?

[He nods along with her explanation, but blinks as she continues talking about describing her observations. For a moment he stiffens slightly when it seems she's touched upon their secret, but then she continues on to describe him as "not aging" and he relaxes again.]

Not in the way that, for example, my teammate Gideon is contracted to Ho-oh. I can't channel the powers of a legendary like those who are contracted do, although of course with my position I take missions from them sometimes. And as for your other comment...I do age normally, actually. Brinda's...not my biological child. [It feels weird to call them "adopted" when he was their at their birth, already there to lift them from their shattered shell and into his arms. Although he also feels kind of bad that he apparently gave her false hope about being like her in some way, he's not sure how to convey that.]

[Alice doesn't seem disappointed, but she does nod along with Nathaniel's explanation.]

Oh! I probably should have assumed that was more likely. Sorry, I got ahead of myself. But you know someone tied to Ho-Oh? That's fascinating! The only divine power I can channel is democracy, or at least it's the only one I've tried -- oh, that's a manifestation of the power of order to funnel the wills of many into a single input decided by the most popular option, it was extremely useful in dealing with the Voices given they're a massive hivemind and difficult to coordinate at the best of times -- regardless! I apologize for my curiosity, it's just that the metaphysical aspects of my world tend to differ from others. Nobody here even knows the fossil pantheon, and where I come from they're second only to the Streamer.

[He blinks a few times at the influx of information, focusing on the last part for now.]

The...fossil pantheon? Their names are the same as the usual fossils that scientists have figured out how to revive, right?

...no one here seems to know the Smith either, although he's always been the type to work more on the sidelines.

I'm going to assume my last name is a coincidence. [Alice rubs the back of her head.] And yes, that's true. The fossil gods usually take the forms of ancient Pokémon, hence the name. They all come in pairs, their domains opposite each other. My patron, Dome, is the god of order, with the lesser domains of democracy and organized sports. It isn't as popular as its opposite number, Helix of chaos, but without Lord Dome, we never would have put the world to rights after the Randomizer.

Oh, definitely a coincidence. He was the one in charge of creating new variant Pokemon species, that were more adapted to the changed world. I actually assumed that was the case for some of your Pokemon when I first saw them.

[Nathaniel listens carefully to the explanation.] Balance...that always seems to be the case with Legendary duos, doesn't it? Although...what about Aerodactyl? Does it have a corresponding fossil god?

That would explain a lot. Unfortunately, you can blame us on the Randomizer, and blame that on... my own problems. Someone who was more dangerous than the gods whose power he messed with.

[DJ rumbles, and Alice sighs with a nod. When Nathaniel asks about Aerodactyl, she looks up.]

Yes, Amber of balance was originally the centre, a long time ago. Though it has its own opposite number in Drive. OLDEN doesn't have an opposite number, but that's because it only ascended a few years ago -- well, a few years from my perspective, being out of time does scramble things -- after the Voices found what was wrong and the hosts who found it were able to fix everything.

[He nods at her explanation.] Your world sounds like it's been through a lot too. Even if it's of a different nature than what happened in mine.

You've got that right. Over and over again.

[Hyperbug buzzes gently and tilts his head in sympathy at Nathaniel.]

I try not to bring it up too often just because it confuses and upsets people, but the key word is "try." I don't succeed, as things go.

[He nods.] If you'd want to talk about it in more detail...I wouldn't mind listening. [It's really not more upsetting than his own backstory, after all.]

(no subject)

domeinion - 2024-02-15 01:52 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only