To those who fear to cast their eyes to the heavens...Behold

[shadowsincryo]

WHO: Kaeya, Percy, Vax, Alex, Setsu, Fabian, Gorgug, and open.
WHAT: Having a bad time during the event.
WHEN: Time is pretty subjective. This is a monthly catch all.
WHERE: All over Etraya
CONTENT WARNINGS: Psychological horror, hallucinations, paranoia, body horror, cosmic horror, wrecked civs, reality warping, altered perception.



All threads will have their individual warnings on their collapsed formatting. If you want a custom prompt, hit me here or pm. We can work out an idea within this genre.

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Mod Prompts

[shadowsincryo]

[shadowsincryo]

Participants: Alex, Kaeya, Setsu
Prompt bones used: Here.

Cw: wrecked civs, reality warping, altered perception, hallucinations/illusions, survival elements, hopelessness, cosmic horror, compulsion, mentions of mental manipulation.

[He thought he had forgotten how it felt to be resigned to a fate that he was given no choice in. In reality, the feeling never left him. He was born into a world where the gods wanted his people to cease to exist. The punishments of the divine are swift and ruthless.

Those they set as stewards are meant to watch because gods can't be bothered to show their faces to those they seemingly rule.

He thought he had let go of hatred. In truth, the icy cage he stuffed a lot of things into is that hate holding it all together into a map of paths that he chose to take instead of being consumed by it. Answering cruelty with cruelty is written in history, and no one ever won.

The particles fall like ash, and a call pulls at him. He checks the lantern on his belt and follows it. Divine and greater beings don't care about those below. Well, one does. But he is far, far from them, and wine won't solve a damn thing about his situation.

The street shifts back and forth as he walks, a ruined road of a great civilization—the bones of an ancient spirit, and lastly a wasteland twisted by the cold, sickly purple light pouring through the cracks like the earth itself is wounded. Cutting across the center of his vision is a black monolith that feels more real than the rest of the world. And yet, less real than anything else.

It is other. It feels wrong in a familiar way. He walks on, glancing around to see if they are all called to it. If it is truly real at all.]

[backtostart]

[ The ground bleeds with purple light, dyeing the endless grey fog that stretches out around them even as landscape grows dimmer and dimmer, less and less distinct, the further one looks out into it. The heels of the boots don't click as they step across the what looks like it should be a path of broken stone. Sometimes, the path isn't there at all—sometimes, they stumble in their step, only to see the ground beneath their feet has been washed away, leaving only a void behind—before it's back again, solid and unchanged.

Is there an end to this? Is it even possible to find the vent, when the world is twisting and distorting? They hadn't made any plans for how to deal with losing their mind like this. And if this keeps up, they'll end up holding Kaeya and Alex back. They need to pull it together... Setsu squeezes their eyes shut and blinks them open again.

A monolith, glowing in the fog.

Out of everything they've seen, it feels the most significant. (Why?) They blink again to clear their vision, and they're transfixed by it. The view is only sharper now—at some point they began walking towards it, crossing the barren ground in long strides.

If they touch it, they're learn something. They just need to be close enough to place their hand on it, and things will fall into place—

That doesn't make sense.

Setsu digs their heels into the dirt, forcing them to stop a short distance away from the structure.

The monolith is looming over them, glowing with otherworldly light. Ominously. They take a cautious step back, looking between Kaeya and Alex. ]

This...thing. It wasn't here before, was it? [ They point forward and up, indicating the whole twisting structure. ] ... There is something here, right...?

[shadowsincryo]

Participants: Percy and Kaeya
Prompt used: here

cw: body horror, unknown black substance, corruption, demonic possession, psychological horror, nihilism, implied death (temporary), violence, mentions of blood, will add if need be.

[After recent events, he hasn't stopped moving. The idea of slowing down means looking back, and he'd rather not process what went on. Or the hunter that follows his every step like an executioner's blade.

Sometimes he catches a flash of blonde hair—a flicker of familiar imagery. The tall, imposing form of the man who looked at him across a table with a diamond pupil sharper than his own is a shadow in the fog as he steps back onto the grounds of the winery. He raises his lantern at him, eye narrowed.] Alright. You can go back to being fog. I'm done with your theatrics.

[The scrape of a boot in another direction is like a nail against glass. His sword is in his hand and turned slightly, ready to be swung. His voice carries with a casual tone as if he were out for a stroll, instead of avoiding thinking too hard.] Please don't think I'm talking to you. But I'd rather have a chat face-to-face to be sure you're not another illusion. Or if you are one, please leave the Dawn Winery.

[The grounds of the Dawn Winery are within a valley, and perhaps what might have led Percy this way was the looming form of the manor rising out of the fog. Or the feeble glow of bell-like flowers at the edges under the trees, as if taking shelter under their watchful protection. A sign sways in the wind, 'Welcome, Dawn Winery. Whence the flow of daylight comes, Forget not whence thou came.']

[badnewsandshitlist]

The fog pressed close over the valley path, damp air curling around the swing of his lantern. Percy kept his pace measured, shoulders taut beneath his coat. The lantern’s glow slid across tinted glass, catching on the long beak of the plague doctor mask that cut sharp against the mist.

At his wrist, Diplomacy whispered with a faint spark across its brass seams, a restless echo of the tension strung through him. Kaeya’s voice reached from ahead, steady, almost casual. Percy raised the lantern higher, tinted lenses flashing back the light.

“If you were the fog, I would call it a cruel refinement,” he said, voice clipped but even. “But you stand, you speak, and that will do.”

[shadowsincryo]

“I can dance if you’d like.” The joke said as he clips his lantern to his belt. But he doesn’t let go of his sword. Last time Percy had moved with the unspoken air of one born to the same nobility as his best friend.

The mask and the movement now is one of caution and readiness. He observes it all as he points the tip of his blade at the ground. Less of a threat for now. “If you are real, then you’ve no doubt found out how fun it is to wander and see people who aren’t here.” Whether one likes their presence or not is irrelevant.

“And reality being…flexible. Or the poison in our air is not doing wonderful things for our minds.” Or it could be both. How wonderful for everyone. Despite the casual tone, Kaeya’s steadiness is that of a warrior poised to move the moment he needs to.

Closed

[shadowsincryo]

[shadowsincryo]

Participants: Vax and Kaeya

cw: illusions/hallucinations, death, undeath, soul degradation, monsters, curses,

[Closer to the beginning of the fallout on an unnamed street that keeps changing its sign, a cloaked figure holds up a lantern. The light doesn't push back on the fog. Yet he uses it all the same.

The figure is tall, moving with the gliding steps of a swordsman in enemy territory. In his wake, the world seems to peel like the pages of a book turned to a previous page. The buildings become wrecked. The ground underfoot is covered with dust as if people haven't walked directly in the street for countless years.

Sickly purple light vents from the earth as monstrous shapes move through the wreckage. But to Vax'ildan, whenever he looks upon this scene, he will see that the golden threads of fate connecting them to the web of life are degrading and decaying. As the body decays in death, it doesn't look well. These souls are dying. Forgetting. On the path to becoming nothing.

The figure in the cloak turns, the hood falls back, and reveals Kaeya's face. He holds up the lantern. The thread of his fate is used like a jailer's chains and a noose of punishment. He doesn't look at the monsters. His voice is softer than usual, but it cuts across the space all the same.] I haven't found the vent or even a hint of it yet, have you?

[twin_blade]

[ As Vax wanders the fog, he knows he's gotten lost. He wanted to try and find his sister or Percy, but every time he thinks he knows the way, something is different. Now, he's in a place he's not familiar with. Is this even Etraya? Or is it some twisted version of it? Hard to say, but he knows all the bodies he sees are not native to the city. They are from somewhere else.

The sight of their decaying threads is concerning. He would do something about it, but he can't usher them to the next world from this one. Again, he's reminded of how cut off he is from his Matron and her power. Without her, is this what would become of all souls?

Spotting the light in the fog, Vax'ildan follows it until he comes upon the cloaked figure. When they turn to speak to him, he recognizes Kaeya right away, though it's been a while since camp. ]

Hey. Uh, no.

[ Vax finds it hard not to stare at the way Kaeya's own threads wrap around him. ]

I'm not even sure what part of the city this is.

[shadowsincryo]

Same warnings still.

[Kaeya turns slightly, glancing around them. Again, he doesn't seem to glance at the fallen or the monstrous. His eye flicks to the sign.] I'm not sure we're supposed to. What did that sign say when you saw it?

[Right now the words aren't coherent. They look off and unreadable. Before, they might have had some horse-related business. Or something one would expect out of a town. He pauses and takes a step back. The bleed in the world spreads a little further.] ..if you're seeing the same thing. I've run into times we don't.

[The souls are all looking at him. Even if their bodies are turned away they look at Kaeya. The man himself shifts a little uncomfortably.] I should have started there.

[twin_blade]

[ Vax looks up at the unreadable sign again and knows staring at it is useless. ]

It's fucking with me, that's what it says.

[ Well not really, but maybe Kaeya gets the idea. ]

What? Started where?

[ Is Kaeya seeing the souls, too? He seems to react when they turn to look at him, but maybe it's just a coincidence. ]

[shadowsincryo]

Started with what you can see. [He says as he lowers his lantern. He closes the distance, stopping a few feet away. His voice is lower. Noticeably, where he had been Etraya is just Etraya, but shrouded in fog. Whatever is happening is localized to him.] I've run into a few people. We don't always see the same things.

[twin_blade]

[ It's as if the shadow of the fog is follow him and twisting things around him. Maybe's reacting to Kaeya. Feeding off of him. ]

Do you see them?

[ Vax turns his gaze to the souls who continue to stare at Kaeya. ]

[shadowsincryo]

[This close to him, his face going diplomatically neutral is obvious. He finally looks around him at the floating souls and to the monsters that are shifting through the ruins.] Yes.

I had hoped that effect was stuck to my view. [He adjusts the lantern's flame.] They're harmless. They're not interested in attacking.

[They keep staring and that's uncomfortable. In so many ways.] You were staring at me too. What are you seeing on me?

[shadowsincryo]

Participants: Kaeya and Gorgug
What: He did promise Gorgug weird tech. No warnings yet.

[The world keeps changing back and forth like someone turning the dial on a radio. Places he recognizes. Places he doesn't. Towns. Ship docks. Then a ruin.

The ruins look familiar to him. Pale stone sticks up out of the dirt and half covers the brass-colored piping. A doorway is cut into the ground. It is clearly man-made. A small pedestal with a square-looking podium-like device made of the same brass fits into the top.

He ducks to the side away from the entrance. Maybe it is real. Perhaps it isn't. But he throws a rock to catch the attention of a familiar friend. He won't let his friend end up finding out the hard way. He calls,] Gorgug, this way!

[tinflower]

[ It's frustrating, it's a little scary, the way the world shifts. Locations unrecognisable, the way his feet shift to its ground underfoot; his lungs heavy in his chest, and Gorgug doesn't know if they're getting any closer to finding that vent.

All this is, is a game of waiting out these tricks. And Gorgug slows to the newest one before him. Some kind of controls, a door in the floor; isn't this a test just for him? It toys with him to see, a voice whispering inside him. You have to solve it. You have to fix it. Not that it'll matter. It never matters.

The music from his headphones never blot it out. Gorgug approaches, dropping the sound from his crystal, heart rattling in his chest--and it's a good thing he doesn't have anything in his hands when a voice jumps out at him, and Gorgug in turn jumps to face it with fists raised defensively.

(He definitely made a noise, too.) ]

Kaey-- [ He starts, air trapped in his throat. But is it him? Are they themselves? You're going to let him down/You'd be stupid to fall for this trick, the voices collide in his head.

Gorgug stands, unsure. Kaeya's a friend. He can trust Kaeya.

Right? ]

[shadowsincryo]

[It hurts to see Gorgug like this. In a better life, he would be showing him Teyvat’s many wonders. Not.

He stands up and holds his hands up, palms facing Gorgug. No weapons.] I’m here. We need to step away from the Ruin Grader factory door.

Hopefully we’re lucky and this one is inactive. Considering how this mission is? I highly doubt that.

[He hasn’t been hit with more mental bullshit yet. But he will. They’re all being poisoned in real time.]

[tinflower]

[ Gorgug nods. There's a hesitation to his body, but even with that somewhat slower nod than he would usually give, there's a part of him (a large part) that wants to believe, is believing in Kaeya. Fists more turned towards himself than facing out.

He drops them, flexes his fingers. Breathes in, breathes out, and steps towards Kaeya. ]

This is-- you know this place? If you don't go through somewhere the illusion wants, [ he says, a tremble to his voice that he's trying to soldier through, ] it circles you back...

[ It doesn't mean they can't try. Gorgug will follow Kaeya, but still... ]

[shadowsincryo]

How many times has that happened to you? [Some illusions locked onto him and bent the world around him. As if he were vent opening a hole to another world.

…would they even know the vent if they saw it? Would they know each other. Worry and concern chase themselves across his face as he leads Gorgug to the pipes and glances around. The pipes tower over head like a wall or awning for the entrance. In the shelter of the pipes they can get a better look.] I do. Ruins like this are littered all over Teyvat. Ruin Grader factories are rare. We destroy them the moment we find them.

No one risks one being active. Some things are better left in the past.

[tinflower]

Enough, [ Gorgug says on a breath exhaled, and maybe, probably, Kaeya understands. It can't just be happening to him, he thinks, even if that worry nags that it is -- he's the only one tripping over the same traps.

But Gorgug follows Kaeya, finding some comfort in a situation that isn't immediately south. His shoulders still hold tension, but he ducks his head instinctively as they come under the pipes, whether he needs to or not for his height. ]

So you, uh-- ... can we destroy it like this? [ Is that the purpose? Or can they escape its purpose, by being smart enough to act quick? Gorgug observes the structure, not sure his scanners will work for this.

And he asks, though he knows it's not always a safe question to ask: ]

...what's the worst that can happen?

[ If it is active? ]

[shadowsincryo]

[It probably says a lot about their lives that he doesn’t even need to think about it.] Depending on in what condition it could produce upward of a dozen Ruin Graders in days.

A single one gives people like me a hard time. We can do it but…

[He grimaces.] Better to get inside and shut it down. Then blow it up. At least here I don’t have to fill and file paperwork about the incident.

Open

[shadowsincryo]

Notice

[shadowsincryo]

This is where you toss up your hard limits. So I know what to avoid in responses. I don't want to tread on anything you don't want. We can discuss this in a private message if you prefer; just let me know, and a private message will be issued.

Never ending train

[shadowsincryo]

cw: altered reality, mental manipulation, time distortions

[Click, click, click.

The sound of metal wheels on a track filters through the haze. He doesn’t remember where he was or when he boarded. He stares at the coffee set before him.

When was that? He looks up. Other people in their seats are dressed in various styles he’s seen around Etraya, but he can’t discern their faces. Time seems to stretch as he glances outside. There is nothing outside. It feels like an absence, and he might lose something if he stares into it too long.

He looks away and stands up. The passenger car seems normal, but there is something off about the alignment of the chairs and the space. The door is slightly tilted. And the other Etrayan will wake up in a seat next to a warm beverage. How they got here and when are gone.

Kaeya turns, lifting a hand.] Been here long?

Hunted underground

[shadowsincryo]

cw: claustrophobia, tremors (the earth), and being hunted

[Cold water is seeping over the top of his boots. He lifts a foot and glances around. His lantern hasn’t been of much help. It finally shines brightly and reveals the inside of a cave. The walls are marked by water erosion and moss. Algae floats on top of the water, and blind fish flit through the water.

Ahead of him, metal tunnels cut into the stone, and darkness obscures how far in they go. He trudges to the edge of a metal walkway and pulls himself up.

Just as water is disturbed in the distance, something is coming—something hungry and moving faster towards the source of a noise. Whoever else is here has to decide how to deal with the sudden danger. Do you try to meet it? Do you follow Kaeya's example?]