The Fifteen Strangers Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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15strangers2019-08-16 10:56 pm
strangerpeople) wrote in 15strangers2019-08-16 10:56 pm
Entry tags:
FINAL TRIAL
[The Strangers manage to escape. By the time anyone has realized they have left, the Analemma is already on a course to a new destination, one not intended by their Conductor-who was certainly surprised to find their ride gone, hours later.
Cardia has turned off radar and other equipment that would allow anyone to find the train easily. There is no barrier around this train, so everyone can see the Clockwork Sun as it gets closer and closer.
They aren't going to London, obviously. Cardia manages to explain that, originally, the Throne of Hours was located there, but after Victoria became Twice-Renewed, the Throne was ordered moved closer to the Sun. Now, it is connected to the station called Sunspur-a desolate place, formerly an exhibition hall, where only the Sun's engineers and wayward captains now go. No one dares to cross the bridge that connects the Throne to it, when they are there.
That will change, but not immediately. Even at top speed, it will take several hours for the train to reach its destination. Cardia suggests everyone relax in the Lounge of this new train. Apparently, this one was going to pick up its newest passengers very shortly, and so the bar and kitchens are stocked with food and drink, at least.
There is much to talk about. Much to look through, and much to consider. The past four weeks have been difficult to process, but the evidence from Perdurance has been especially daunting. It only shows just how stark the situation is-and it's up to the Strangers to figure out just what they will do when they do, at last, confront Her Enduring Majesty.
After all.
Whatever happens, a reckoning cannot be postponed. Not indefinitely. And the bill is almost due...]
[It's time! The objectives are simple in this trial: untangle the story of this place and decide what to ultimately do when they finally confront Victoria, the Mastermind of the Little Courtesy! It will not be easy and the truth, as ever, will not be a light one.
Will they triumph? Will they go home? What else might happen? What else could be in store? There's only way to find out!
Have fun, and good luck! And remember-
All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.]
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[... Slowly, he pulls his mind back together.]
You can ask me any personal questions once we get out of this. Right now... we need a plan. How are we going to handle this? What's our play here? I don't have another magical religious artifact I can pull out in front of this Empress.
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[ He'll just assume everyone else will fill in the blanks where applicable.
Or make a better plan. ]
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cw: essentially encouraging suicide,
cw: WELP PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT NICE THINGS re: suicide, assisted suicide
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[Charlotte speaks a bit prematurely, as she's fighting with the knot around the bundle of things she brought - she gives up, once it's loosened, and carefully extricates a whip.]
In the end, I couldn't burn it. Too much history... in any case, you should be perfectly safe handling it. It's just a symbol, now, with none of the Lecardes left to wake it up.
[She coils the whip, securely, and tosses it at his feet. It was inevitable, wasn't it? No matter the world, she was going to end up watching a man with kind blue eyes sign his own death warrant, and that damned thing would always be there.]
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mods, she's bringing up a bazaar trade thing, you may be needed shortly?
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"Her Twice-Renewed Majesty's Elixer of Salvation"... that's what it said, anyway. I don't know if it will serve any purpose but... it felt like something I should take with me.
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He pulls out a half dozen jars of a red, honey-like substance. Familiar, isn't it?]
Ah... Brought what I found, too.
[...Also a laptop, unless RGB was the one who grabbed that?]
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We spoke with one of the brainwashed – an excitable boy, who kept telling me that "Rika" would be there soon. When we inquired further, he informed me that "Rika" was their queen.
I expressed confusion, as I believed her name to be "Victoria," but he informed us that was merely a "formality."
So, I have to wonder. Victoria, the Twice-Renewed... the name she went by was Victoria Erica, correct?
And why have we found so much relating to that when she has been "renewed" again, and goes by "Misericordia" now?
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cw: talk of parasites? idk
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Phone tagging, sorry for the inevitably slow responses!
He drops the newspaper onto the nearest table and sits down on the couch closest to it.]
Might know who the resistance leader is, if she hasn't been killed or brainwashed yet.
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Really? I only ever got codenames...pretty sure they were codenames.
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He said that he had seem things that should not and cannot be, such as the fall of the Sixth City, the death of the stars, and - these are his words, not mine, though he did utter them at a much greater volume than I care to use - "The Black Thing that has seeped, seeped into the Between. The between of all Things."
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[Just let it be the ravings of a madman, don’t let it be some prophetic thing about anything, please, please, please...]
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[Charlotte doesn't really direct the answer to King, per se. She's taking advantage of his yelling and seizing everyone's attention to grab three of those small jars that Minato set out.
No time to boil water, but honey dissolves as fast as anything in alcohol. It's not like she's aiming to savor any of this, just get it thinned to the point where she can drink it, so whatever is closest and clear from the bar will work. She won't need much, probably. Hopefully.
A spoon, a heavy glass... it should be obvious what she's planning, if anyone sees.]
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Are we sure that’s safe?
[It should be noted, however, he’s not moving from his seat.]
CW SUICIDALITY + EXISTENTIALISM - mods?
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MYSTIC MESSENGER SPOILERS
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Though he will state casually:]
If that proves not to be enough, I do have a bit of tea that could be brewed.
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What in all the hells do you think you're doing?
[Just. Gonna draw attention to it. Make Charlotte say it with her words.]
Suicidality - I should have just put a blanket warning on the top-level.
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THE SHADOW OF THE SUN
The windows of the train begin to turn green. Sunlight becomes ubitquitous. Soon enough, a massive gold skyscraper with endless windows appears on the horizon-gold, with its side facing the sun a jagged edifice of translucent spikes. Connected to it is a complex of buildings, their glass windows dimly reflecting the bright above them.
Somehow, Cardia manages to land at the station, which is shielded by its own shadow from the deleterious effects of the minty light. Behold the Clockwork Sun, the ultimate in British industrial brilliance, in all its glory as you disembark. Notice how murky its light is as the helix within swirls at breakneck speeds. Hear the strange clicking sounds that emits from the massive pistons below, like an automobile trying to start in the cold. Every so often, there is a dissonance in the rhythm of the machinery, somewhere within.
There is a long, black bridge that connects the station to the skyscraper. There is no one guarding it; there is no one there to try and stop anyone from entering where the Empress is.
You are finally here.
The end is close at hand.]
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We should go.
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A GILDED SEAT
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THE THRONE OF HOURS
It's clear this place is dark for a reason. And it's likely due to the proximity of the sun-there are clearly protections here. But there is also a massive crystal monolith, larger than a skyscraper. A small path has been carved into it to allow the humans to climb up it. If they wish. It is a long walk.
And on top is a crystalline plateau, perfectly pointed. This, then, is the real Throne of Hours. It is fit for a star. But it is not a star that sits on it.
Nor is it human.
Slowly, a massive eye opens and stares down as the thing rumbles. It's mint. But there is no servitude in those eyes. This is one that has rejected the Sun's maliciousness. And the thing the eye belongs to?
McBurn would know. He saw They Who Must Grieve.
As for everyone else....they can see the needles. The irrigo core. The massive, undulating tentacles.
It's Lilac who speaks first.]
Well. I suppose I shouldn't stand on precedent here?
May I present her Thrice-Renewed Majesty, Victoria Misericordia...Chaesun Moon.
They Who Were Once Human.
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[Part of his brain screams at him to flee. To move, to get down, to run away from all of this. He is a coward, and he knows it.]
[Frumpkin rubs his cheek against the scratchy beard, and he breathes for the first time in what seems like a long time. He can do this. If he doesn't... well. They all might be dead.]
Your... Your Majesty. Thank you for agreeing to see us, even if this is very... unconventional. We would like to ask you a few questions... if that is all right. We have all traveled a very... very long way.
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SUNLESS SKIES SPOILERS
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...One answer we're looking for is a way to put a stop to those 'Little Courtesy' games of yours.
[ Gratefulness or not, massive creature or no, powerful being or not, it's not enough to curb his boldness, up front nature, or what may be perceived as audacity. ]
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ONE LAST VOTE
She doesn't need to breathe. But there is something like nervousness in her countenance.]
{ ...strangers.
Do...you trust me to do the right thing? }
[One last vote. Majority rules. This will decide things once and for all.]
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...I owe you this much.
I do. I trust you will do what is right. I believe you've been trying all along. And if there's anything I can do to help, I'd want to do it.
TOWA: TRUST
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Feeling trapped, having the weight of the world on your shoulders.... I get it. Same thing I was facing, in my world. But...part of my own contract. Go forth without falter, with your heart as your guide.
MINATO: TRUST
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He smiles.]
Hero would trust you, so I will put my faith in her.
RGB: TRUST
Vote Discussion??
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CALEB: TRUST
DECISION
BERNIE: TRUST
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KING: DISTRUST
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MITHOS: DISTRUST
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RIS: DISTRUST
FINAL VOTE: 6-3
WELL-STARS (Fallen London spoilers)
{ . . .I'm ready. }
[At this, the eyes of the "Messengers of Magic" come back to the golem.]
"Then finally. You have decided to make a wish!"
{ . . . I have. }
[The eye looks down at each of the strangers.]
{ The Clockwork Sun was created through a science that can subvert the Law. It was...through this Science that V's soul was merged with it by the Amaranthine Conjunction. Through which the Unclear Bombs were born. How space travel was made. And an accident remade me as this.
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My wish. . .the power of Red Science.
The power to understand and control it completely...for everyone's sake! }
[There is a bright light that appears above the Throne of Hours. Now, the true form of the Empress can be seen in full. A massive, needle-infested, tentacled creature, and it's eye glows before its irrigo core flashes-and a large Soul Gem appears.
From behind, there is an inhuman, loud screech from outside the windows, followed by loud smashing sounds.]
"I see! So you intend to fix the Sun using the Red Science.
"But it is a pity. To change a God will guarantee your Gem will change into a Witch. So, you have doomed your universe with such short-sightedness."
[Indeed, the Gem is already starting to darken as the golem tightens her hold on the cat.]
{ Strangers, hurry! Please touch the base of the Throne and focus on the Soul Gem, if you please! }
[It's clear that she is planning something, but...who knows what...]
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