npc || doran [ @doran ]

[nightnpcs]

⟪ an old man graces your sight with a kind smile, white-haired, white-bearded, and indigo-robed. behind him, multicolored garlands and wreaths deck the wall, and by his side stands a tall woman—some of you might recognize her as désirée. stoic and straight-backed, she casually observes their surroundings: glimpses of restless passing in front of the camera might indicate that they’re in a pub somewhere in mirth. with commoners.

doran seems entirely unbothered, content and at ease. when he speaks, his voice is clear and warm, matching the glint in his eyes. ⟫

My dear Restless… What dire times we all face, and what resilient people you are. I would not insult a brief reprieve with appeasement—your struggles and concerns are well-founded—and yet it is my hope that this announcement alleviates some of your torments.

⟪ slowly he brings his mug to his lips—it’s eggnog, because of course it is—taking his time to swallow and seemingly struggling not to cough. désirée's hand gently lands on his arm. ⟫

To those of you suffering from the curse, know that a cure is well on its way to be completed. I’ll personally ensure that there is enough to treat you all. Now… as difficult as it is, I fear I must still broach the subject… ⟪ he sighs, brows knit. ⟫ The people responsible for your unjust imprisonment were apprehended. They confessed, of their own volition, overwhelmed by Shadows they could no longer effectively control. Such a tragedy… Come what may, they were sentenced to dwell in the Hinterlands, and will not be welcomed back in Stygia.

As for your compensation, the sum of 400 coins will be sent directly to you, along with a piece of soulsteel. You will also be formally invited to a Masquerade hosted by the Hierarchy, in Radiance, as soon as the weather… unwinds, as it were. ⟪ ha! ha! ha! he laughs, briefly yet heartily, even though it’s not even a good pun. ⟫ Now, my dear Restless, rest easy and look out for each other. We are all we have. ⟪ head inclined in friendly salutations, the feed cuts. ⟫

ooc note

► the cure will be available in february, and a mini quest will lead up to it in january
► all characters will receive an invitation to the masquerade next month
► only the characters that were imprisoned will receive the coins and the soulsteel
► you can use your soulsteel to turn a medium-sized object into an artifact, just bring it over to a blacksmith @ the forges. let's say no bigger than a chair
► feel free to interact, though i will probably rng who he (or désirée) replies to! if you have questions that he/she doesn't icly answer, redirect them oocly to the question thread below!

Comments

text ↪ un: 十五

[zangetsu]

Hey, I didn't ask for anyone to be punished. You don't get to throw people to the wolves and call it justice. If their shadows were responsible, they need help, not you guys being assholes. All that's going to do is perpetuate the cycle.

（ congrats, he's now using capital letters abt this. ）

un: sunsummoner

[sunmon]

You want the people responsible to just get away with it?

[zangetsu]

I didn't say they should get away with it.

But if it really was their shadow, then any one of us could end up in the same situation. Do you want to be exiled from everything you know here because you had a bad couple days with no control over your actions?

[sunmon]

My shadow doesn't have the authority to wrongfully imprison a bunch of people. Maybe since theirs do, they should have controlled it better.

[zangetsu]

Well, they didn't. It's already done and dealt with. I'm not going to be the guy who thinks permanent exile from their friends and family is an appropriate response to a crime we all walked away from. There's also zero indication of due process here. Confessed? 'Own volition'? Were they tortured? Taking the fall for someone higher up? We have no idea.

I don't really care if you agree or not.

[sunmon]

'Due process'?

You're just coming up with things to be upset about. Is it the fact that you weren't privy to every step or the way they chose to punish those responsible that upsets you?

[zangetsu]

Like a court of law. An actual trial, not a confession followed by banishment.

Where the hell did you get that idea all because I don't want people to be condemned?

[dodgeouttahell]

Agreed. That's setting up a precedent.

[zangetsu]

（ who are you, why are you agreeing with him. this is weird. not sure if... like??? ）

Yeah.

And I don't like that they just 'dealt with it' without our actual input on what should happen. We're the ones it affected, we should get a say. Not just a pile of money and a shit apology.

[dodgeouttahell]

[Sorry, he just got excited and jumped at it.]

I wasn't imprisoned. What do you think would be valuable compensation?

[zangetsu]

I don't care about any of that for myself.

I'd leave that up to the others.

[nightnpcs]

Ah, how I wish it were that easy... For some, there comes an unfortunate point where the Shadow grows beyond help. They will, sooner or later, transform into Spectres. Thus is the will of Oblivium.

[zangetsu]

（ he can't help but think of the vizard. overtaken by their hollows, cast out by soul society... even if it had a happy ending a century later, the similarities still sicken him. ）

Then you assholes need to improve your awareness and support for people who are getting that bad to begin with. You clearly know it's a problem, so fix it.

And don't act like you did us all a favour by announcing a convenient scapegoat and then throwing a dinner party at us.

@mk

[enactors]

( marc's just got here so he has precisely zero (0) idea of what happened before, who was imprisoned, why and by who, but— )

who are you suggesting decides punishment?

( he sees that 'I'. )

[zangetsu]

I would've liked to see actual goddamn trial and some transparency from the Hierarchy for a change.

Instead we're just taking their word for it that these are the right people, and this is the appropriate punishment.

I don't buy it.

[enactors]

how long have you been here? ( curiosity rather than judgement, per se. )

if you believe the hierarchy prone to dishonesty and obfuscation, what makes you think any trial held would be more honest?

[zangetsu]

I'm not answering that just because some random asshole is curious.

（ he's never had a filter at the best of times, tbqh. ）

It would at least be more public. Right now we're just being told what happened with zero proof and having money and a goddamn ball thrown at us. Sorry if I'm not on board with it.

[enactors]

( one— )

moon knight.

( two— )

so you'd prefer visibility regardless of inherent honesty.
got it.

[zangetsu]

Yeah that's exactly what I said. Good job.

（ teenage sarcasm is a helluva drug. ）

Obviously I'd prefer they be honest.

But if their intent is to be dishonest no matter what, I'd rather they be public about it so we can make up our own minds instead of Santa over here telling us that the problem's solved, no worries here, pay no mind to the man behind the curtain and not telling us shit otherwise when it comes to lives being destroyed.

un: mccoy

[homeostatic]

Good to know someone in this place has an ounce of compassion.

( okay so he's met more than one, but STILL his point stands. )

[zangetsu]

I'm not doing it for this place. Who asked you?

（ feeling a l'il spicy after some of the bullshit he's dealt with? lashing out at a total stranger about it? yep. ）

[homeostatic]

At ease there, sassafras, I agree with you. It sounds like you've been through Hell. Advocating for the humane treatment of someone who's hurt you is pretty damn decent. More folks ought to heed that.

1/2

[zangetsu]

I wasn't hurt. The others had it worse than me.

（ peak kneejerk denial. kurosaki 't'is but a fleshwound' ichigo, tbqh. his concept of his injuries vs other people's injuries is. skewed. wee bit. ）

[zangetsu]

Wait, what the hell's a 'sassafras'?

[homeostatic]

( whew )

It's a type of tree back home in Georgia; the sapwood's got a sharp, spicy taste.

You're Japanese?