transmit | inbox / purgastory.

Well, yeah? If everyone's busy drinking, who'd think of blaming lil ol' us? [ US… ] That, and the wider net I cast—… well, that's not important.

What's important is that we all made it out pretty safely! I almost thought we were goners when it turned out Yosuke and I were the only ones to hold the line. [ A light little laugh. ] Looks like we're going to need to bust out some more papers as warnings, señor.

[ I forgot to note that I rolled a fuckin 18 for injuries, so. There's that. Unfortunately, this is where I also need to link another visual as neat rows of protruding crystals line his waist, arm, and shoulder—so no one's gazes will have to stray far from the light of god in order to see them and/or comment if they really want to. dies. ]

That's good that you can still think of having fun.

[ Though, he loses a bit of colour at having the fact that he's a non-combatant brought up. His best attempt was intimidation on grounds of having a big-ass gun with a tranq, and maybe is a decent blunt weapon besides. ]

Sorry, I can't move really all that well, so the best I can offer is holding up the rear...

...Um...

Oh, that wasn't meant to knock you. Without everyone involved, we wouldn't have gotten half as much out of this as we did. If anything, it just emphasises the need for a buddy system more than ever.

[ He reaches out to also pat Tokinaga's shoulder, and finds… that it feels kind of nice? Huh? So now he's just holding onto it. Okay. ]

Or was there something else on your mind?

[ Is hold? ]

No, it's... sorry, I'm just glad we got out of whatever that was with no one hurt.

...I'd been meaning to talk to you about some stuff Fiammetta-san mentioned to me, but...

[ Why you gotta be shirtless and distracting. ]

Those growths?

[ Is held… Elysium has no experience with these touchy effects yet so he's just looking at his hand like ❓ Tokinaga did you always have these mysterious healing properties ❓

Still, he happily soaks up the attention and practically basks in it. That is, until Fiammetta's name comes up, expression briefly twisting. ]

Hm? These? [ He mirrors Tokinaga's gaze a touch too pointedly; is it just his imagination, or does he flex the abdominal muscles? Hard to say. But his other hand drifts to the growth at his waist, fingertips ghosting over them in consideration. ]

I guess they're pretty eye-catching even to people here. Heheh. I wear them pretty well, don't I? There's very little I don't pull off.

[ They're there and he's unashamed of them, but unlike Fiammetta… he paywalls information. Sorry. ]

But that's not what you wanted to talk about, right? You mentioned something Fiammetta said?

[ Just a little, powers-less, non-combatant guy... ]

...Yeah, you do.

[ He just lets that answer take its course since, well, isn't he the same sometimes? ]

It's... about god-like entities that came from the sea.

[

Oh. His shoulders settle, no longer loose and relaxed. ]

Now how did that conversation come about?

She asked what I do, and I told her I'm a vet. At the Anti-God Institute. To stop the IPOs -- the "gods" in question -- that came from the Sea of Okhotsk three decades ago and invaded Japan.

…

Sounds like Japan's still holding up? Six decades ago, a tsunami swallowed half of Iberia and shattered its entire power structure, letting a Lateran sect sweep in and claim what was left. The Seaborn that came with it have been gnawing at its remnants ever since, though some will tell you Iberia's death came when the waves did and what's left is nothing but a glorified corpse.

I wouldn't call what we're current fighting gods. They have their gods out there, but there are only so many people who have seen them to live the tale.

[ Lateran sect... he supposes, maybe that's why the slight awkwardness when he brought up Fiammetta? ]

Ten years ago, the IPOs invaded the mainland and has made all of Hokkaido and large parts of the Tohoku region uninhabitable for humans -- that is, about a third of the country. When large-scale changes happen, and so suddenly at that, it's easy for people to start attributing it to the acts of gods, even though in theory, they're just biological aberrations -- unknown megafauna, in other words. That's what the term "IPO" is supposed to prevent, it's short for "idolatry prohibited organism".

[ They're still holding up, sure, but they're definitely threatened. ]

I wouldn't say they're the same thing, but I've been dedicating everything to figuring out a way to stop and eradicate the IPOs. I was wondering, if you had any unique insight or experiences from your version of things...

Right. There were people who turned to worshipping the Seaborn in response to Iberia's oppressive rule. And those who incidentally hailed from the sea themselves, Ægir, were especially subject to their discrimination.

[ Welcome, Tokinaga, to the fraught relations of the AK cast… ]

Haha. Are we sure they aren't the same thing? [ … ] The Seaborn were manmade creations, originally developed to counter an entirely different existential threat. [ This time, he touches the crystals on his shoulder. ] But the experiment went too far; they developed a mind of their own. In reality, they function as a hivemind. Since they can assimilate any living creature, they evolve at a frighteningly alarming pace. That's why we fight them with the simplest tools possible. If we used advanced tech, they'd only learn from it and turn it back on us. It's a temporary stopgap measure at most; how does one go about fighting the entire sea?

Eradicating them… if you ever figure that one out, I'd like to know the same.

[ YOU GUYS CHOSE GEOPOLITICAL STRIFE CAST ]

...No, maybe not. The IPOs aren't man-made. Ironically, actually, the Institute has been investing in creating man-made IPOs in a way to defeat them in the first place.

[ USUALLY THIS IS INFORMATION Tokinaga tentatively keeps out of conversations becasue he should respect some semblance of an NDA but it's kind of relevant. Dahut and Yosuke just get to hear a little bit about the wild shenanigans of the Anti-God Institute, I guess. ]

Though, it is true that IPOs are capable of absorbing information and evolving at a rapid pace too, if their rapid development from their emergence from the Sea of Okhotsk to today is a sign. The best shot we have so far is that we recruited two of them to fight against their own kind.

[ Dahut and Yosuke get to hear what it's like living in an apocalyptic world, yippee. ]

Funny, isn't it? In a bleak sort of way—how humanity always seems to converge on the same methods. Our strongest defense are Ægir who have been modified with Seaborn DNA. The price is that they're inevitably turning into what they're meant to fight… but there's nothing else we've managed to figure out, not unless we want to arm the Seaborn even further.

[ He smiles, a little grimly. ]

I'm not sure if what I know can be of any help, but we can trade notes on the specifics on what's worked and what hasn't.

I'd like that, if you wouldn't mind.

I'm running out of time, too.

[ Running out of time…

…

He looks over his shoulder to Dahut and Yosuke, then turns his gaze back to Tokinaga. ]

Lemme get Yosuke back, jot things down for you, then get in touch. How does that sound?

[the fact that there's just an audience for every private conversation happening here is so funny]

[ he is not talking about their mortality in front of KIDDOS why are you fake fifteen

eldritch monsters and gods are all apparently ok though whatever ]

[ no no i think he should talk about mortality anyway ]

[HE'S JUST A FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD TEEN BAKER YES... Protect him from the horrors thank you........]

Probably a good idea.

Also I should've asked this earlier of everyone, honestly, but...

...What are we going to do with all the parts?

Honestly, I think Dahut's the only one who actually knows. [ help. ] He carries way too much knowledge for someone that compact, don't you think?

If nothing else, I'm sure he'll come up with something fun.

Height isn't relative to brain size.

[ His office is full of short people... and cats. ]

I'd like to hold onto a length of rope if nobody minds, but otherwise I'm open to however we'd like to utilise the parts.

I meant it in regard to his age. But… why does it feel like I'm catching a stray?

Still, that's no prob. I took plenty since it was the most immediately useful thing we could repurpose there. Always a good thing to have on you, especially when exploring the unknown.

You're not, I'm sure you're very smart. [ SINCERE, FOR THE RECORD. ] With the fog, I think it's a good investment so we don't get separated as easily.

…

You try to use the rope to keep everyone together, but the fog seems intent on separating you. The journey has been mostly uneventful, aside from the occasional rumble of distant thunder.

Then! The rope snaps. You glance back, no one's there. You look forward, no one's there either. What do you do next?

inbox / purgastory.

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