npc || amun [ @ hierarchy ]

[nightnpcs]

( ping ping ping. or, y'know, whatever your phone chime is. the face of a man who looks like he's never smiled once in his entire life appears on your screen. you may have seen him before, while you were busy surviving a storm or battling reapers. no matter. you might as well bask in his impromptu company now, because his appearances are few, and his indulgences even fewer. )

Allow me to make this clear. For those of you who wonder still: I am the Hierarchy. You do not come to us; we summon, invite, and hire. Order is of the utmost importance if you wish to survive, and time is of the essence. Do not waste mine.

( behind him, movement. if you squint, you may notice strands of greying hair near the door, though the person it belongs to remains off-screen. )

Your personal troubles are your own. If you expected us to hold your hand, do think again; there are far greater affairs to attend to, so do yourselves a favor, and look for soulmates. We've prepared an application for you, easily accessible from your device's home page. Should you need additional information, perhaps it's time for you to practice self-reliance.

I will not be answering questions.

( and the feed cuts, abruptly, without greetings or a name. )

ooc note

► Amun will not be responding, though you're absolutely welcome to react, comment and discuss amongst yourselves on this post! Other NPCs might show up!
► This is, more or less, Tinder for Soulmates o/ You'll find the permanent post (aka phone application) right HERE! If you're interested, simply fill out the form and comment on the post, and bam. Browse, swipe left or swipe right, and have fun! This is not mandatory.
► Forms and replies should be posted ICly (yes, even if it's located in the OOC comm -- you may choose one (1) thread for october's AC) .
► Another character may post in your character's stead. Additionally, feel free to have their Shadow influence their blurb!
► The application offers all the information your character needs to know! To recap: All that's required for another Restless to become your Soulmate is for them to enter your home, touch your Tethers upon invitation, and from then on, a piece of their soul will merge with yours, fortifying your Self. As a literal extension of your being, they'll easily gain access to your thoughts if you let them (or if you're careless), they'll experience your pains, fears, and joys on weaker levels, and their voice, touch and overall vicinity can become great soothing weapons against your Shadow. However. If two characters already share a powerful bond and one incidentally touches the other's Tethers, it's an accidental done deal. You may thank Naruto's player for this.
► You may have multiple Soulmates!
► If you have questions regarding the app, redirect them here!

Comments

[abandonme]

I didn't mean to offend, I'm sorry.

[ Thwarted... ]

Right, right. Sorry I missed it, Sakura. I'm Rachel.

[ Introductions achieved. ]

But if you're rattled, you really aren't showing it. I'm very impressed.

[craters]

You didn't offend me — it's all right.

（ what rachel doesn't know is that this is a bit of a point of insecurity for sakura, having been called out for an obsession with romance prevailing above other more important things, so... in a way, she's more reminding herself than offering her statement as reprimand. ）

Rachel — that's a nice name. （ foreign, but she's learning that's par for the course. her pronunciation is perfect, despite the fact it doesn't exactly come naturally to her. ） I promise, I'm as unsettled by this place as anyone. It's just easier to move forward when you pick a direction.

（ not entirely true, but she's got a cover story to maintain. ）

[abandonme]

[ Your hearts feelings might be a weakness someone could exploit, but Rachel can think of worse ones. Romance is just another dream people have. She can't be that upset if someone values it. ]

Oh come on, its not as nice as yours.

[ It is a foreign name, pretty weird by her world standards. Sakura doesn't need to pretend to find it cute. ]

You say it like its nothing, but you're really quite strong to do that. Usually, I can't think of anything to do in situations like this.

[ If Rachel is being honest, a voice in her head notes, competence like this really ticks her off. What on earth is this girl trying to prove? Does she want to seem better then everyone else? ]

[craters]

（ she laughs a little, but it's that sort of shallow, flustered sort of laugh that demonstrates a lack of knowing what to say than actual amusement. ）

Ah, it's not a competition! We can both have nice names.

（ she flaps her hand a little — not that it helps, given that it's an audio call. ）

Does that mean you've been in a situation like this before...?

（ yes please let's stop talking! about her! ）

[abandonme]

[ It probably helps on Sakura's end to not be forced to see the blank expression on Rachels face when she laughs - the smile that doesn't reach her eyes - how she wouldn't react to how uncomfortable that statement made Sakura. Then Rachel might animate, blinking softly and nodding slightly ashamed at her words, like it was all just a silly mistake.

What an odd person she was, saying something like that. You'll have to forgive Rachel, she's small and charmless. Don't pay the strange things she does any mind. ]

A little bit. Before this I was in a competition. I had to complete a lot of challenges with a team. My goal was pretty clear, but I hesitated a lot.

[craters]

What sort of competition?

（ normal people might assume 'game show' or 'friendly game of dodgeball', but sakura did a whole-ass school exam in a place called the 'forest of death', so her mind immediately jumps to all sorts of awful things. ）

[abandonme]

The life or death sort.

[ Games shows and friendly games of dodgeball might have made apperances but probably with murder and death and etc etc etc. ]

Well, I guess you can give up the prize and get away fine, but that was never an option for me.

[craters]

I'm sorry. That must have been very difficult for you.

（ there's a tired huff of breath, and then: ）

Do you want to talk about it?

[abandonme]

Oh please don't be, Sakura. I wanted to be there.

[ Her troubles aside, she would do any despicable thing to get back. All likelihood, that chance has passed, but Rachel isn't afraid of taking an alternative path now that she's here. ]

You sound very strong, so you must have a dream too. I needed to climb a tower and surpass everyone inside to make mine come true.

...Clearly it didn't work out, but I don't think my dreams are so small I could only achieve them in there.

[craters]

What are they? Your dreams.

（ even if this actually is the afterlife — which she does still strongly doubt — there's nothing to say that dreams can't be pursued here. some, like naruto's, are too strongly tied to a single place... but not every dream is like his. ）

[abandonme]

My dreams?

[ She wanted her fate to be her own for once. She wanted to shine brighter then a star. She wants to be adored, she wants to feared, hated, reviled, bound in responsbility.

She wants to be a spectacle nobody can look away from. Nobody will ever forget her then. She'll never be left behind. ]

I want to see the stars with my own two eyes. To touch one... Something like that.

[craters]

（ the sort of star she means ultimately doesn't matter, does it? a more pedantic person might point that out, but... ）

I don't see why you wouldn't be able to do that here as well. Does your world not have a clear night sky?

[abandonme]

It does, but I've never seen it.

[ It has fake skies, not unlike the stars here. Neither hold as much interest. Before the tower, Rachel spent most of her time in a cave with her friend. His life had been even darker then hers. ]

The tower obscures everything. I'd have to get to the very top to see them.

My hope is that I might find real stars here. The rules of this world are very strange, but there are those rumors of ascension! It might have a clue about where I can find a real star.

[craters]

（ that... truly did not clarify whether or not she was speaking in metaphor, and sakura is just left faintly bemused by this entire conversation. ）

May I ask what the stars are supposed to be like in your world?