Conquestum Paradisi

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Conquestum Paradisi

☢

What: Closing Arena Ceremonies, Part 2
Where: Aries Arena & Televised
Summary: 1/24/10AC
Warnings: This could get serious...but who knows.

Finally it was time for the mayor, Kazuki Sakahagi, to speak up. Not even an thirty minutes left to the celebrations, but seeing him go appeared to be lighting up a spark in the citizens. It wasn't too hard to see why; his enthusiastic grin and way of walking could easily melt anyone's worry away.

He walked to the center stage as cheering broke out, two men in black and Junko Tanako behind him.

[OOC - GO FORTH AND TAG FREELY]

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OPEN || deaths' be doing their "job" thread || Pharos, Izanami, Death of the Endless

[the_usual_stuff]

The dim of the battle that was taking place within the auditorium and spilling out into the city with the panicking crowds of people struggling to flee from the thick of the fighting, the ruckus as Personas burst out to partake in the conflict, and the confused screaming as everything went straight to hell, didn't immediately concern them so much as the limp, motionless lumps of flesh scattered on the ground did.

This sudden spurt of violent bloodshed had claimed dozens of lives, Anoli, Guest and native alike, and the dead belonged to Death: so it was their expected duty to move them along as peacefully as they could. Collaborating their efforts would work best in this dimension. Thus, sooner or later, there are ghostly beingsーsometimes a boy, or a pale woman in black or in whiteーbeside the lifeless bodies, holding the soul gently in their hands and leading it away.

These souls will find peace in the halls of their afterlife, at the very least.

The ashen faces of the corpses were still and unblinking as they stared at the sky, trampled on by the throngs of living people. Their lips slowly lost color, no breath nor heartbeat lingering in their chests.

And well. It's quite possible to catch them in the midst of this...

[If your character is paying very close attention, or has a connection to/the ability to perceive death or other godly entities when they're busy doing their thing, then they'll be able to see them. If not, well I guess one of the Deaths got careless and slipped up on their invisibility a little. NPCS are free to try being really damn stupid their hand at attacking if they want.]

Re: OPEN || deaths' be doing their "job" thread || Pharos, Izanami, Death of the Endless

[acapriciousthing]

Death's approach to this particular task is not what most people expect. No scythes. No weapon of any sort. Just a gentle touch of a hand.

This all comes naturally to her, but it's still different than how she would choose to do it. There's a lot to do. "This is easier when I can be more than one place at a time."

[handshakegreeting]

Izanami did not use a weapon either. She merely passed them by, allowing her many hands to reach out in a comforting embrace as the soul was soon claimed by it. Even so, her range has been limited; she cannot reach out to as many as she could back in her own world.

"Indeed... However, this reality limits all abilities not native to its lands. It is to be expected that even we cannot reach out as well as we would like or need to." Perhaps they are lucky to even be able to do this much, she wonders as she closes another poor soul's eyes as the last of life slips from its former vessel.

[the_usual_stuff]

Pharos used his own two hands, and nothing else as he passed through.

"That is so... Being limited like this is somewhat of a hindrance however, even if that is the price we must pay for existing in this dimension." Remarked Pharos with a faint huff as he loosened one corpse's soul from its mortal shell with pale fingers. His approach was a little different; he come for them, he reached in to extracted their souls and pulled them free as smoothly and cleanly as he could. It wasn't terribly gentle though he made the effort to make it so when he claimed them, but it worked, even he did it one by one in his small range.

"And not a hindrance I have experienced before."

He disliked it when he rushed or arrived too early. Some people hung on longer than strictly necessary.

[ghost_shield]

He rounds a corner, and stops. Oh... oh geez.

He knows people die. He deals with dead people. But usually it's well AFTER the death. Seeing it actually in the PROCESS, however, is disorienting, let alone with so many death entities working at once. It's a little frightening, to be honest, even though he knows they have no interest in him.

Although... didn't he meet that kid before? He supposes that explains the lack of familiarity with snow. Sort of. Then again, being from a warmer climate would've explained that just as well without the, uh, other elements.

He looks around slightly awkwardly. "Uh... I'm just gonna... do you mind if I get through here, guys? I kinda have to... go this way... but I can totally go back the other way if I'm interrupting anything! ...um."

Calm and collected, our boy.

Open to any of the Deaths~!

[poweryetunknown]

There was something in the air - something he hadn't felt since the UG. It was different. There was a sense of power. And Neku couldn't do anything but stare a little. He couldn't quite see what was going on, but any of the Deaths around would be able to tell that his soul wasn't quite as alive as it should have been... but it wasn't time for him to go either.

He couldn't help but stare at the faces of the dead, though - gripping the edge of a seat or just taking a deep breath to calm down. Had he looked like that? And while he had friends now... did anyone except maybe his parents care when he did? He blinked back tears and fought to keep his face steady, looking around for any more danger.

He was careful to step around the bodies, though. Treating them roughly just... didn't feel right at all.

[handshakegreeting]

She did indeed notice, and while she was indeed curious about it, what fascinated her most was she could sense that this human child was from a form of her country. The way he acted, as well, was interesting to say the least. To show this much respect for strangers who had passed...

Neku would likely notice a faint flickering of white as one goddess of Death ushered another soul to the afterlife; to peace after such an untimely end.

"Do not fret for those who pass on, child..." The soft whisper nearly sounds like a mother's voice, trying to calm a crying child. "Danger will not find you, here."

Not for this moment, at least; there are three of them working simultaneously. How ironic that they are safe due to the presence of Death.

[poweryetunknown]

It wasn't so strange - after all, someone he counted as an ally at the very least was very connected with death. But he swallowed hard, refusing to turn away from the dead bodies. He just hoped that they either got to where they were going quickly or got the chance to come back to life... though he didn't think there was an active UG here.

Still, he couldn't help a strange feeling of kinship with them. He turned to address the voice - or where he thought it was coming from, anyway. "I'm not. I just know how much it sucks."

Connection with death you say?

[hasherhandsfull]

It was strange to see these moments of calm even in the midst of all the chaos. Even moreso, to see people walking amongst them, and... what they were doing. Still... the number of still forms... they'd known this was coming, shouldn't they have been able to do something more to keep these people from dying...?

"There's so many..." she sounded... so sad. "Are you taking them?"

She's heard stories about shinigami, of course. But they were just stories, and the Reaper's game had certainly seemed to turn all those on their head. But yet... that seemed to look so much like what these people were doing here. Maybe it worked differently in Hinoto-Ri?

why yes

[the_usual_stuff]

The ten-year old boy in black-and-white clothes paused when he noticed she could see him, a shivering soul cradled in his arms to carry it away, a quick shadow as unnaturally vivid blue eyes surveyed her. The entanglements of the fighting passed through his silhouette, leaving him untouched.

"Yes, there are, aren't there?" Pharos' smile is an amiable one, agreeable, welcoming, no malicious intent towards her shown in his movements or his lighthearted answer even at her sadness. Perhaps it was cold of him, but he had never found death especially sad, even untimely ends like these. "We are; they do need to move on, after all. Does this sadden you...?"

He was the smallest of the three Deaths gathered here this day. Pharos released the soul in his arms and wandered closer.

[hasherhandsfull]

That makes her pause and think for a bit.

"I guess I'm not sad that they're moving on," she said, trying to put her feelings to words, "But it feels like we messed up somehow."

Even though she'd only arrived after it'd been set in motion, she'd heard enough about the plan involving the Grand Prix to know something like this was coming. And if they'd known, then they should have prepared for this.

She knew what her adages said, that you shouldn't fret about something you can't change, but she can't help but be sad anyway. Maybe even a little upset.

[eyewillprotect]

[The Deaths may sense something wrong in the balance between life and death. More specifically...

There are souls that are returning to their bodies quite alive. And if they seek out the cause of this, there is but a high school girl in the middle of it all, drawing power from the world itself to resurrect these people.

Three people. It had been a mostly subconscious action; her heart cried out at the sight of so much death, and her powers activated, bringing back the dead with juttering gurgles as their bodies healed and their organs resumed functioning. And as a result, her right eye begins to ache, enough for her to press a hand over it in an attempt to stem the pain.]

[acapriciousthing]

[As busy as she is, it's still impossible for Death to miss the ripples. Someone is meddling. That's dangerous. Eventually, she comes to the source.]

Is that you?

[eyewillprotect]

[She's startled, but she does her best to contain it. She lowers her hand from her face so that she can face Death properly, although her eye is definitely showing some slight irritation.]

...I believe so, yes.

[forceofnature]

Beside a group of charred bodies, a small girl supports her weight with an elaborate wooden staff, leaning forward to place a hand lightly on the hearts of the deceased. Her expression is one of curiosity more than concern. As she can sense the supernatural, so, too, will the psychopomps become aware that another deity worked in their midst.

...These people had passed beyond her domain now. The goddess of nature and all living things gives a weary shrug.

"Even in a place like this... For all they know, they could be the last of humanity in this world. Do they work together to survive? Nope. They break up into little factions and tear each other to pieces."

She sighs.

"Eh. I won't say no to more fertilizer for the plants."

[the_usual_stuff]

And a small boy with curly black hair approaches the heap of blackened corpses, preparing harvest the souls per his duty. He cares little about the flesh-and-blood bodies themselvesーhumans could do with they wanted with them. Pharos' facial expression is curious as well when he glances at her before he crouched down next to a limp corpse on the ground. The sense of the energy that radiated off her identified her easily as a fellow deity, one associated with life.

The embodiment of Death and all the yearning for an end exhaled tiredly himself.

"They bring misery upon themselves, don't they?ーthough in some cases, it is thrust upon them."

He set his hands on the body's chest and softly yanked loose the soul curled inside it.

At least the wildlife had the sense to run away.

[forceofnature]

Viridi glances at the boy with a wary expression, though it's clear she's intrigued. The goddess steps aside as Pharos approaches the body - close observation would reveal that her feet weren't quite touching the ground. Dirtying herself with the spilled blood of mortals was always more trouble than it was worth; it made her hot springs uncomfortably pink the next few times she used them.

"Sometimes, I think it would have been kinder if we never gave them sapience. They don't ever seem to use it the right way."

Death was part of the cycle of nature. She knew that. She accepted that. Sometimes, as in the case of humans, she even encouraged it. That didn't necessarily mean she liked it very much. The rational part of her - a very small part - recognized that not every avatar or god associated with Death was as much of a megalomaniac as Hades. The rest of her wanted to scream 'MINE MINE ALL MINE' and refuse to let go.

But this was, admittedly, the first time she had ever met a psychopomp that, well... wouldn't be out of place in a kindergarten class with her. Curiosity overcame rudeness for the moment.

"This isn't your world, is it? Where are you taking them?"

Open! (Green)

[hasherhandsfull]

[The funny thing about crowds, particularly panicked mobs, was that they tended to separate you from the people you didn't want to be separated from. Somewhere in the midst of all the screaming and shoving mob, Rhyme had lost track of Neku and Shiki.

She's tried calling out to them, but in the throng it's difficult to hear her own voice.

In the end, she tries pushing and ducking her way through the crowd, out of the main stream of people, towards the stairs. If she gets up to a higher place, then she might be able to see Neku or Shiki or someone else who can help, or maybe they'll be able to see her.]

[poweryetunknown]

[Neku rushes past, a very strange Persona in front of him. The thing leaps up and crashes down on an Anoli, knocking him out. He turns and runs over to Rhyme.]

Are you hurt?

[hasherhandsfull]

Neku!

[Okay whew, she found one of them, that's a good start. Though... she will stop and stare at that Persona because... that looks a lot like a Noise. A black Noise.

... but that's something to worry about later. Keep your priorities in the right order]

N-no. I'm okay. Where's Shiki?

[By now she knows that they can fight without their partners so long as they have their Personas but she's still worried. Shiki is a friend.]

[poweryetunknown]

[He'll explain later.]

I don't know. I haven't seen her. She's... probably okay but we should find her as soon as possible.

Open! [Yellow]

[alwaysataclimax]

At this point, Momotaros only knows three things for certain.

One, the first guy that was making a speech was kind of a dumbass in his book. Two, the second guy that made a speech was really damn long-winded, and kind of a jackass for reminding him that Urataros wasn't around with his fancy use of words and that generally calm approach. (Which then reminded him that Kintaros, Ryuutaros, and Ryotaro weren't around, either.) Three, the crap had royally hit the fan and a bunch of jerks in masks were attacking civilians.

And for some reason, he felt a lot more fired-up than usual...

So Momotaros decided to do what he did best. Draw attention to himself, get loud, and get violent.

"HEY, ASSHOLES! You got a problem with Visitors, then bring it to me!" He waved his sword around when he could, movied through the crowd and shoved civilians out of the way as he went, while yelling at them to get out of the area.

[operationbox]

How she was separated from Kaito was irrelevant. What mattered was... this guy.

WOW, that is one way to make yourself a target. Better keep an eye on him, since Io doesn't really want him hurt, much like anyone else.

She'll stop occasionally to guide the citizens out of danger in little ways, though...

RED. Bonus points for fatal-to-humans injury/KO-type death. He'll heal. (he'll wear out, though.)

[poorlittleblueburdie]

Avitus had tried to get out from the back of the crowd when the chaos started, he really had. But his obvious inhuman appearance made him all too easy a target for the Anoli, and someone had tried starting something, another Anoli joining them. And he'd tried harder to flee, jumping up over the crowd and spreading his big wings to flap a time or two.

It wasn't flying. Not much, at least; he wasn't gaining half-decent altitude, just jumping and mostly gliding over to a relatively empty place so he could try again to head to the exit.

Unfortunately, this would surely only help make him more of a target. Indeed, he was swiftly attacked again, knocked to the ground in a tackle, which somehow -- in his panic, he had no clue as to the details -- resulted in that Anoli being launched a good twenty feet up into the air while he scrambled to get back up to jump again, the bright energy of an initial Persona summoning gathering around him even as he did so.

((Anyone care for an obvious target being obvious? little post about his limits is here but to sum up, bring it on, for I am an evil mun to him.

Also, I'm gonna laugh if anyone mistakes him for a Persona. Thank you Atlus for your character/demon/Persona designs!))

Yellow. Ask before joining,

[afterthemoon]

[When Isa had volunteered to help with the security he has thought, hoped rather, that nothing major would actually go down. Yet, with his luck he should have expected this.

He doesn't rush towards the chaos, though, instead staying back and waiting for anything that may need his assistance.

He summons Lunatic to his hand, yet once the weapon's hilt is in his hand he feels oddly unsettled.]