Cosmic Power and all that Jazz - Revision history

BrittanyPanthas at 16:45, 13 July 2013

2013-07-13T16:45:06Z

BrittanyPanthas at 05:16, 13 July 2013

2013-07-13T05:16:15Z

BrittanyPanthas at 05:12, 13 July 2013

2013-07-13T05:12:31Z

BrittanyPanthas at 05:08, 13 July 2013

2013-07-13T05:08:22Z

BrittanyPanthas at 18:32, 10 July 2013

2013-07-10T18:32:40Z

BrittanyPanthas: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2013/07/10 |Location=New Orleans |Synopsis=A harmless date in New Orleans. Nothing happens in this scene, except Jazz. So much Jazz. |Cast of Cha..."

2013-07-10T18:31:47Z

Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2013/07/10 |Location=New Orleans |Synopsis=A harmless date in New Orleans. Nothing happens in this scene, except Jazz. So much Jazz. |Cast of Cha..."

Show changes

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>The word 'Enough' echoes around in his head for awhile. And then two words come to the fore of his mind. <br /> <br /> Foolish. <br /> <br /> He finds himself sighing. <br /> <br /> Foolish Girl. <br /> <br /> And.. Riku realizes, in those two words, in the intonation, the entirety of it all. He sits down, almost collapsing like his strings had been sliced. He sits almost as much in a pile as Alma was. The look of absolute horror on his face is complete and absolute. The hook on the door? It belongs to the guy behind you. The call from the murderer? It's from inside the house. <br /> <br /> Like all fears. <br /> <br /> It's all in your head. <br /> <br /> Riku starts to say something half a dozen times but he just can't make himself do it. He doesn't get up from the ground even though he feels like running away. He feels like running and never stopping. <br /> <br /> But that wouldn't do any good, would it? <br /> <br /> Riku closes his eyes, sitting there with his head in his hands. "..I'm sorry." he manages after a long time. His voice is stricken and numbed into lifelessness. The horror is so thick in it that you could spread it and watch it set like concrete.
-:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Optional BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qNBIGrv9k <br /> <br /> "Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "Were both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "I'm terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. I'm terrible at it. So maybe.. I'd like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesn't involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesn't stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
+:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Optional BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qNBIGrv9k <br /> <br /> "Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "We're both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "I'm terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. I'm terrible at it. So maybe.. I'd like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesn't involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesn't stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Riku is too locked down in horror mode to even protest as Alma sits down right next to him. He starts to tell her to stay away but the words just get locked up in his throat. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. <br /> <br /> He can't bear this waiting. <br /> <br /> Just get it over with. <br /> <br /> Just.. <br /> <br /> Nothing. <br /> <br /> No understanding. No relief from the horror. Just.. <br /> <br /> Something hot slides down the side of his face. Tears of absolute confusion and rage. <br /> <br /> Alma is saying something but it's almost as if he's afraid of turning his mental focus away from the white noise. Afraid to listen. So he tunes into the conversation a little late, blinking as she admonishes them both for trying too hard. <br /> <br /> "I.. Alma it's.." but he can't get the sentence out. It's tangled up in his head. He's absolutely paralyzed. <br /> <br /> My. <br /> <br /> Ultimate dryness. <br /> <br /> You have a terrible track record for this, don't you? <br /> <br /> Not exactly his voice. Not exactly his own. <br /> <br /> Mental crash. <br /> <br /> Riku just stands there as the voice chides him with faint bemusement. <br /> <br /> Well. Go on. <br /> <br /> There is not enough train wreckage left of his mind to even process that statement. So he does the next best thing. He just goes with it. Riku wraps his arms around her and presses her as close as he can. As if she were the only remaining anchor left to sanity.
-:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Its really is Almas first true kiss, and all that teenage awkwardness of having no experience with this, none whatsoever, comes into play. <br /> <br /> She doesnt know what to do, where her hands are supposed to go. What shes supposed to do with her lips. <br /> <br /> The thought of the tongue doesnt even enter into her play. <br /> <br /> Maybe the fact that he barely even responded verbally disturbed her. <br /> <br /> Maybe theres the niggling fear in her mind that this might be the moment shes vulnerable enough, that hes vulnerable enough that.. he does take her heart. And not in a romantic sense either. Even though hes done that too, without knowing it. <br /> <br /> And she was a fool for not allowing herself to think about it any longer. For not processing, the true depths of the horror in his mind. <br /> <br /> For not realizing she might be the only anchor left to the sanity in his mind. <br /> <br /> ...For not realizing how tenuous this connection might be. <br /> <br /> That all it might take is one moment where she wasnt there, at the right time.. and thatd be that for Riku. <br /> <br /> She didnt think about any of that. She didnt process the rational or the sane parts of her mind right now. <br /> <br /> It was her first real kiss, and she was a little fool in love whose only concept of romance came from the movies, from the books, from the stories told to her by her traditional mother. But most of all it came from her unexperienced heart. <br /> <br /> After a few long lingering moments she draws away only just slightly, as she leans back in, allowing her forehead to touch his, almost as if she were trying to anchor the turbulent thoughts in his head.. and not even realizing it. She just murmurs to him.. <br /> <br /> "Not really like in the movies.. is it?"
+:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>It's really is Almas first true kiss, and all that teenage awkwardness of having no experience with this, none whatsoever, comes into play. <br /> <br /> She doesn't know what to do, where her hands are supposed to go. What shes supposed to do with her lips. <br /> <br /> The thought of the tongue doesnt even enter into her play. <br /> <br /> Maybe the fact that he barely even responded verbally disturbed her. <br /> <br /> Maybe theres the niggling fear in her mind that this might be the moment shes vulnerable enough, that hes vulnerable enough that.. he does take her heart. And not in a romantic sense either. Even though hes done that too, without knowing it. <br /> <br /> And she was a fool for not allowing herself to think about it any longer. For not processing, the true depths of the horror in his mind. <br /> <br /> For not realizing she might be the only anchor left to the sanity in his mind. <br /> <br /> ...For not realizing how tenuous this connection might be. <br /> <br /> That all it might take is one moment where she wasnt there, at the right time.. and thatd be that for Riku. <br /> <br /> She didnt think about any of that. She didnt process the rational or the sane parts of her mind right now. <br /> <br /> It was her first real kiss, and she was a little fool in love whose only concept of romance came from the movies, from the books, from the stories told to her by her traditional mother. But most of all it came from her unexperienced heart. <br /> <br /> After a few long lingering moments she draws away only just slightly, as she leans back in, allowing her forehead to touch his, almost as if she were trying to anchor the turbulent thoughts in his head.. and not even realizing it. She just murmurs to him.. <br /> <br /> "Not really like in the movies.. is it?"
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Not at all." he says back very quietly, his voice so quiet the words are barely a whisper even though he's nose to nose with her. <br /> <br /> Riku smiles very slightly and leans in again, continuing what Alma pulled away from for a considerable length of time. He loosens his grip on her, pushing back enough to look into her face. He then starts to laugh. "We suck at this, don't we?" he cackles in a semi hysterical manner and facepalms. <br /> <br /> His shoulders shake as the hilarity of it all. The entire ridiculous day, falls on his head from the height of a sodden paper bag full of fish. His rational mind is still screaming bloody murder, but he's turned the volume down so far he can't make it out anymore. <br /> <br /> He doesn't care. <br /> <br /> If he starts to care. If he starts to think about it, he won't be able to function. <br /> <br /> He can't afford that.
 :'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>The girl is surprised when he pulls her in for a second kiss. Surprised, and elated. She entirely expected him to shove her away. To hurt her again, to keep her at an arms length as the lovelorn little fool who would probably come crawling back to him anyhow.. <br /> <br /> It would serve her right. It might even keep her safe.. well, safer. <br /> <br /> But no, for a moment, everything is perfect, as her mind shuts off.. as she experiences that second kiss, and once hes finished, once hes lax on that grip on her again and theyre still face to face. He states that they suck at this. The statement hits her, and then her mind comes back on, just slightly. That tiny part of reason that returned processes it, and she begins to giggle. <br /> <br /> Putting her left hand up to remove the palm from his face, "We do. We really.. really do." <br /> <br /> And then she laughs with him, placing her left arm back around him, just laughing. Laughing until the tears come. But they arent tears of sadness, despite the fact that they should have been. Shes removes her glasses with her left hand, giving him a cheerful look. Another nod to the fact that her rational mind has quite literally /sproinged/ and a few gears busted loose when she turned it off. <br /> <br /> "..but hey, I think we can get better at it. We really cant get much worse."

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>The word 'Enough' echoes around in his head for awhile. And then two words come to the fore of his mind. <br /> <br /> Foolish. <br /> <br /> He finds himself sighing. <br /> <br /> Foolish Girl. <br /> <br /> And.. Riku realizes, in those two words, in the intonation, the entirety of it all. He sits down, almost collapsing like his strings had been sliced. He sits almost as much in a pile as Alma was. The look of absolute horror on his face is complete and absolute. The hook on the door? It belongs to the guy behind you. The call from the murderer? It's from inside the house. <br /> <br /> Like all fears. <br /> <br /> It's all in your head. <br /> <br /> Riku starts to say something half a dozen times but he just can't make himself do it. He doesn't get up from the ground even though he feels like running away. He feels like running and never stopping. <br /> <br /> But that wouldn't do any good, would it? <br /> <br /> Riku closes his eyes, sitting there with his head in his hands. "..I'm sorry." he manages after a long time. His voice is stricken and numbed into lifelessness. The horror is so thick in it that you could spread it and watch it set like concrete.
-:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Optional BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qNBIGrv9k <br /> <br /> "Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "Were both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "Im terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. Im terrible at it. So maybe.. Id like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesnt involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesnt stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
+:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Optional BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qNBIGrv9k <br /> <br /> "Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "Were both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "I'm terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. I'm terrible at it. So maybe.. I'd like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesn't involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesn't stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Riku is too locked down in horror mode to even protest as Alma sits down right next to him. He starts to tell her to stay away but the words just get locked up in his throat. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. <br /> <br /> He can't bear this waiting. <br /> <br /> Just get it over with. <br /> <br /> Just.. <br /> <br /> Nothing. <br /> <br /> No understanding. No relief from the horror. Just.. <br /> <br /> Something hot slides down the side of his face. Tears of absolute confusion and rage. <br /> <br /> Alma is saying something but it's almost as if he's afraid of turning his mental focus away from the white noise. Afraid to listen. So he tunes into the conversation a little late, blinking as she admonishes them both for trying too hard. <br /> <br /> "I.. Alma it's.." but he can't get the sentence out. It's tangled up in his head. He's absolutely paralyzed. <br /> <br /> My. <br /> <br /> Ultimate dryness. <br /> <br /> You have a terrible track record for this, don't you? <br /> <br /> Not exactly his voice. Not exactly his own. <br /> <br /> Mental crash. <br /> <br /> Riku just stands there as the voice chides him with faint bemusement. <br /> <br /> Well. Go on. <br /> <br /> There is not enough train wreckage left of his mind to even process that statement. So he does the next best thing. He just goes with it. Riku wraps his arms around her and presses her as close as he can. As if she were the only remaining anchor left to sanity.

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Light. <br /> <br /> Riku had a very bad moment of paranoia and fear. That much light would annilhilate him. It was an odd thing. When it was weak, he would be drawn towards it and burnt and repelled as it got stronger. He had trusted someone and had gotten annilihation as a reward. He couldn't even comprehend what it was. It was just a blast of light and he threw his hands futilely across his face and flinched back from it. <br /> <br /> Fear. Rage. <br /> <br /> Resignation. <br /> <br /> It figures, is the thought that crosses his mind bitterly before the impact. <br /> <br /> And he waits.. <br /> <br /> And waits.. <br /> <br /> Riku opens his eyes before she starts talking, waiting for the strike that never comes down. Just the creation of cosmic space and the stately turn of a clockwork universe. Promptly he trips over his own feet and falls down with a thump onto the starfield, looking up and around at the illusory images which blaze almost eye-defeating in some places and hazy and dull with distance in others. <br /> <br /> "Wow." he lets out a small startled laugh when he recognizes the world of ruin, reaching out a hand very tentatively to the world as a comet blazes past. Something cuts across his vision, a slash of dusk brilliance that brings another stinging slash of bitterness and anger. He tries to locate the twilight tracer but it has disappeared into the rest of the universe. If it even existed at all outside of his own mind. <br /> <br /> Riku closes his eyes again, overwhelmed by the detail and the twilight slash and the turning, spiralling universe. He just covers his head with his hands for a minute ot two, and gradually pulls himself back together to peer at it all in wonder, squinting to try and take it all in as best he can. <br /> <br /> "..Its amazing."
-:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Fortunately, even if she were making it real, it was only for a small area. It would have likely hurt, very much so.. scoured, and scathed certainly but it wasnt even /close/ to the same scale of that which had created the actual universe. <br /> <br /> He'd see great clouds of multihued dust dancing within the otherwise dark void, forming, congealing. All moving in fast motion, as if billions of years were passing in the blink of an eye. The dust having the appearance of being molded by an ephemeral hand into gas clouds, and then into the stars.. then further gas clouds were molded into the planetary gaseous bodies which orbit the stars, which then in turn were molded into more solid planets. These pinpricks of light changed in color so rapidly, with the stars which were moments ago newly formed already appearing ancient, while some of the planets took on the appearance of blues and greens which seemed indicative of life. Others began this way earlier, and became instead bright red, or brown over time.. as if life had come, then faded away with the passage of time. <br /> <br /> Alma lowers herself down to the /floor/ of this little universe, the light around her still glowing with all its radiance. She might have offered her hand to help him up when he stumbles, but she just smiles patiently instead. <br /> <br /> Riku would notice one other quality about her that was different. Instead of pupils in her eyes, the same sigils which he had seen make up her offensive magic turned and rotated in her vision, taking up the sclera and the irises, the pupils. It dwarfed out the entirety of her eyes. <br /> <br /> She lets him take all of it in, the serenity on her expression flinching only slightly as she notes his reaction to the comet. <br /> <br /> So she waits, she waits. She doesn't comment, she doesn't embarrass him, she lets him compose himself. <br /> <br /> And then after his comment, she laughs light-heartedly, and it sounds lilting, more musical than before, but already she seems tired, maybe even a little diminished by the effort. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">To quote the song, You ain't seen nothing yet.</span> <br /> <br /> And then she moves a hand. And it's like the universe is the surface of a touch computer, or a cell phone to her. She rolls her hand across the heavens, and the World of Ruins rapidly rotates away, instead Riku now has a nebula in front of him, in its hues of purples, and oranges, with dancing plumes of dust, just surrounding her. <br /> <br /> She rolls her hand again, and theres a constellation of a celestial chariot, all joined together for his benefit. She then abruptly rolls her hand, and it zooms in. It was a stately solar system, with a yellow sun, still joined to its sister stars which now appeared above and below it, joined by translucent beams of light.. <br /> <br /> Revolving around it was a very different planet, and if Riku did indeed have enough ranks in Ivalice lore, in particular the geography before its fall hed recognize.. <br /> <br /> /Ivalice/ <br /> <br /> And then before his eyes. Two afterimages of the same planet appeared on the same revolution. And she gave him a patient look, allowing him to take in each, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">Do you know why there are so many different worlds from Ivalice?</span> <br /> <br /> A measured pause, <br /> <br /><span style="color:#FFD700">...because they came from a different time, or maybe even alternate realities. I plotted their trajectories.. all to the same world. The same revolution. The same solar system. Just at different points in the revolution. Different days upon which they fell. Different calendars and time tables. But the same world...</span> <br /> <br /> And then, she raises both her hands to the heavens, and thirteen constellations in particular, stand out, becoming animate representations of each of the Zodiac, Cancer the Crab, Pisces the Fish, Libra the Scales, Gemini the Twins, Leo the Lion, Aries the Ram, Capricorn the Goat, Taurus the Bull, Virgo the Maiden, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Centaur Archer, Aquarius the Water-Bearer. And finally, Serpentarius the Serpent, from the apocryphal Zodiac. Each of these animated creatures with glowing blue outlines, dripping with light energy that looks not unlike fallen stars as they descend, all come closer, surrounding the solar system, as giant representations of themselves. Each moving in a fashion that denotes that they are in fact, the lifelike representations of themselves. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">...and this is why all versions of Ivalice have the same Zodiac. Because they see the same stars, have the same star charts..</span> <br /> <br /> She gives Riku another serene look, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I'm not an artist like you are.. I can only create what I already know. What Ive memorized.. as it is. I can only duplicate the order of creation. So..</span> <br /> <br /> And her voice turns impish, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I can't really one up you.</span> <br /> <br /> She looks abstracted as she looks into the distance. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I can only show you that it all has purpose, that it all has order. That its all there for a reason..</span>
+:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Fortunately, even if she were making it real, it was only for a small area. It would have likely hurt, very much so.. scoured, and scathed certainly but it wasnt even /close/ to the same scale of that which had created the actual universe. <br /> <br /> When he opened his eyes early, he'd see great clouds of multihued dust dancing within the otherwise dark void, forming, congealing. All moving in fast motion, as if billions of years were passing in the blink of an eye. The dust having the appearance of being molded by an ephemeral hand into gas clouds, and then into the stars.. then further gas clouds were molded into the planetary gaseous bodies which orbit the stars, which then in turn were molded into more solid planets. These pinpricks of light changed in color so rapidly, with the stars which were moments ago newly formed already appearing ancient, while some of the planets took on the appearance of blues and greens which seemed indicative of life. Others began this way earlier, and became instead bright red, or brown over time.. as if life had come, then faded away with the passage of time. <br /> <br /> Alma lowers herself down to the /floor/ of this little universe, the light around her still glowing with all its radiance. She might have offered her hand to help him up when he stumbles, but she just smiles patiently instead. <br /> <br /> Riku would notice one other quality about her that was different. Instead of pupils in her eyes, the same sigils which he had seen make up her offensive magic turned and rotated in her vision, taking up the sclera and the irises, the pupils. It dwarfed out the entirety of her eyes. <br /> <br /> She lets him take all of it in, the serenity on her expression flinching only slightly as she notes his reaction to the comet. <br /> <br /> So she waits, she waits. She doesn't comment, she doesn't embarrass him, she lets him compose himself. <br /> <br /> And then after his comment, she laughs light-heartedly, and it sounds lilting, more musical than before, but already she seems tired, maybe even a little diminished by the effort. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">To quote the song, You ain't seen nothing yet.</span> <br /> <br /> And then she moves a hand. And it's like the universe is the surface of a touch computer, or a cell phone to her. She rolls her hand across the heavens, and the World of Ruins rapidly rotates away, instead Riku now has a nebula in front of him, in its hues of purples, and oranges, with dancing plumes of dust, just surrounding her. <br /> <br /> She rolls her hand again, and theres a constellation of a celestial chariot, all joined together for his benefit. She then abruptly rolls her hand, and it zooms in. It was a stately solar system, with a yellow sun, still joined to its sister stars which now appeared above and below it, joined by translucent beams of light.. <br /> <br /> Revolving around it was a very different planet, and if Riku did indeed have enough ranks in Ivalice lore, in particular the geography before its fall hed recognize.. <br /> <br /> /Ivalice/ <br /> <br /> And then before his eyes. Two afterimages of the same planet appeared on the same revolution. And she gave him a patient look, allowing him to take in each, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">Do you know why there are so many different worlds from Ivalice?</span> <br /> <br /> A measured pause, <br /> <br /><span style="color:#FFD700">...because they came from a different time, or maybe even alternate realities. I plotted their trajectories.. all to the same world. The same revolution. The same solar system. Just at different points in the revolution. Different days upon which they fell. Different calendars and time tables. But the same world...</span> <br /> <br /> And then, she raises both her hands to the heavens, and thirteen constellations in particular, stand out, becoming animate representations of each of the Zodiac, Cancer the Crab, Pisces the Fish, Libra the Scales, Gemini the Twins, Leo the Lion, Aries the Ram, Capricorn the Goat, Taurus the Bull, Virgo the Maiden, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Centaur Archer, Aquarius the Water-Bearer. And finally, Serpentarius the Serpent, from the apocryphal Zodiac. Each of these animated creatures with glowing blue outlines, dripping with light energy that looks not unlike fallen stars as they descend, all come closer, surrounding the solar system, as giant representations of themselves. Each moving in a fashion that denotes that they are in fact, the lifelike representations of themselves. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">...and this is why all versions of Ivalice have the same Zodiac. Because they see the same stars, have the same star charts..</span> <br /> <br /> She gives Riku another serene look, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I'm not an artist like you are.. I can only create what I already know. What Ive memorized.. as it is. I can only duplicate the order of creation. So..</span> <br /> <br /> And her voice turns impish, <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I can't really one up you.</span> <br /> <br /> She looks abstracted as she looks into the distance. <br /> <br /> <span style="color:#FFD700">I can only show you that it all has purpose, that it all has order. That its all there for a reason..</span>
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Riku was already overwhelmed by the complexity of the design. The intricate manner of the memorization and the radiance of Alma and this clockwork universe in so many shades. Comets and nebulae and cosmic phenomena. He was knocked a little off balance both mentally and physically. Even though Alma lets him compose himself, it's not enough time to take it all in. It's too much, illusion battering at him at every angle. <br /> <br /> And then she pushes even harder unintentionally, the world of Ruin rapidly rotating away as she manipulates this space with the ease of a touchpad. The stars dance and spit, a nebula dancing with hues of purple and orange. He has no time to process it before it is now the chariot. One of the joined together constellations. <br /> <br /> Perspective changes again, lurches sickeningly to a stately solar system joined by beams of light. Alma gives him a patient look and his blood starts somewhere to boil. The serenity began to grate at the back of his mind like sandpaper over a too recently closed wound. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Riku stares at the interposed afterimages, listening to Alma as she talked with the glassy daze of a sleepwalker. The zodiac animates and descend in streams of light energy that make him twitch and flinch away. The light flickers across his glassy eyes, that energy and something contemptuous and annoyed looking out of them as she gives him another serene look. Explains how everything has a purpose. That there is a reason. <br /> <br /> That set it all off. Even if unintentionally. The rule of the universe is the rule of clockwork fate and the gods as well. <br /> <br /> And something cracks inside like splintering glass. It sounds so smug and self-satisfied in his ears. He buries his head in his hands from the overload, unable to cope. A woman in tune with the voice of the universe. Pretty easy to believe in good things when you tell yourself everything has a reason. Pretty easy to explain away anything. What he should do is put her in her place before it was too late. To rend the ghosts of her pretty universe and show her how ultimately /FUTILE/ her little venture is and how she will die for walking this path, horribly and by inches, at the hands of those who would use her gift for their own selfish purposes. Riku shudders at the image. Alma passed from hand to hand until she is withered and worn out, reaching too far and too often and at last, her last drifting tether to reality fades and her mind is utterly destroyed. <br /> <br /> And this is all broadcast because, although Alma may not be a mindreader. These words.. images.. thoughts, reach out and try to paint themselves on the air like thrown knives, a corridor of explosive connection in a searing lance of dark energy. Riku gripped his head as his thoughts tried to go quite frankly in two directions at the same time. He wanted this. He wanted to accept this as Alma had accepted what he had given her. Wanted to be the one who, when positions were reversed, smiled and took it all in and made sense of it all. Except that implication. That everything had a purpose, was immediate and /SCALDING/ anathema. He had never liked Will Sherman's fate sight for the same reason. Because he didn't believe in fate. Because he stood in /contempt/ of fate. <br /> <br /> And the other part of his mind started at that point of agreement and drove a point home like a spike. <br /> <br /> That is how Light is treated in this universe down to the very basics of a light switch. It is desperately wanted and needed and praised until it's no longer needed anymore. Until it no longer becomes convenient. And then it is tossed to the side like any other piece of useless detritus. <br /> <br /> Darkness is eternal. <br /> <br /> Light is merely contextual. <br /> <br /> "ENOUGH" he bellows in a slightly echoing voice. The connection snaps. Whatever light is being used, there is always darkness in the places between all of life and light in the universe. An aura of darkness surrounds him and pushes back against the illusory light. He pushes himself to his feet and glares at Alma and her serene smile. "That's.. enough for now." he says in a much quieter voice.

@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>The word 'Enough' echoes around in his head for awhile. And then two words come to the fore of his mind. <br /> <br /> Foolish. <br /> <br /> He finds himself sighing. <br /> <br /> Foolish Girl. <br /> <br /> And.. Riku realizes, in those two words, in the intonation, the entirety of it all. He sits down, almost collapsing like his strings had been sliced. He sits almost as much in a pile as Alma was. The look of absolute horror on his face is complete and absolute. The hook on the door? It belongs to the guy behind you. The call from the murderer? It's from inside the house. <br /> <br /> Like all fears. <br /> <br /> It's all in your head. <br /> <br /> Riku starts to say something half a dozen times but he just can't make himself do it. He doesn't get up from the ground even though he feels like running away. He feels like running and never stopping. <br /> <br /> But that wouldn't do any good, would it? <br /> <br /> Riku closes his eyes, sitting there with his head in his hands. "..I'm sorry." he manages after a long time. His voice is stricken and numbed into lifelessness. The horror is so thick in it that you could spread it and watch it set like concrete.
-:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "Were both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "Im terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. Im terrible at it. So maybe.. Id like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesnt involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesnt stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
+:'''[[Alma Hyral]] has posed:'''<br><span></span> Optional BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qNBIGrv9k <br /> <br /> "Don't." <br /> <br /> But the word wasnt harsh, it was soft, gentle.. maybe even a little whimsical, despite still sounding weak, plaintive, ragged. <br /> <br /> "Were both pieces of work. A little broken in some ways. Maybe very broken." <br /> <br /> She smiles at him, bringing up her opposite hand, and tracing the matte black part of her right shoulder with a finger. <br /> <br /> And then she sits down, and before he can offer a protest, she seats herself almost right on top of him, putting her left arm around him, her right arm still hanging at her side. It probably isn't limp, it just hurts to move it. <br /> <br /> "...and you know what. I thought about this in so many ways. I thought about... why it shouldn't be. And in my head I heard my Father's voice, my Mother's, my Sister's.. yours too." <br /> <br /> She tilts her head to the side, looking him into the eyes, <br /> <br /> "...and maybe it won't be. Maybe it isn't meant to be. But we won't know unless we try. So I decided to just stop thinking about it.. and just to let whatever happens... happen." <br /> <br /> She stares at him for some time, gauging whether he's still with her, if he isn't angry, if he isn't pulling away, <br /> <br /> "Im terrible at doing things for myself... you said that. Im terrible at it. So maybe.. Id like to see if I could do something for both of us together? Something that doesnt involve trying too hard. No dinners.. no grand paintings.. no cosmic light show. No magic. No light, no darkness and..." <br /> <br /> ..and then she stops herself, <br /> <br /> "You know I need to just take my own advice, stop rambling here like a lovelorn idiot and just stop thinking about it..." <br /> <br /> And if he doesnt stop her, she leans in, and presses her lips against his..
 :'''[[Riku]] has posed:'''<br><span></span>Riku is too locked down in horror mode to even protest as Alma sits down right next to him. He starts to tell her to stay away but the words just get locked up in his throat. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. <br /> <br /> He can't bear this waiting. <br /> <br /> Just get it over with. <br /> <br /> Just.. <br /> <br /> Nothing. <br /> <br /> No understanding. No relief from the horror. Just.. <br /> <br /> Something hot slides down the side of his face. Tears of absolute confusion and rage. <br /> <br /> Alma is saying something but it's almost as if he's afraid of turning his mental focus away from the white noise. Afraid to listen. So he tunes into the conversation a little late, blinking as she admonishes them both for trying too hard. <br /> <br /> "I.. Alma it's.." but he can't get the sentence out. It's tangled up in his head. He's absolutely paralyzed. <br /> <br /> My. <br /> <br /> Ultimate dryness. <br /> <br /> You have a terrible track record for this, don't you? <br /> <br /> Not exactly his voice. Not exactly his own. <br /> <br /> Mental crash. <br /> <br /> Riku just stands there as the voice chides him with faint bemusement. <br /> <br /> Well. Go on. <br /> <br /> There is not enough train wreckage left of his mind to even process that statement. So he does the next best thing. He just goes with it. Riku wraps his arms around her and presses her as close as he can. As if she were the only remaining anchor left to sanity.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Log Header
-|Date of Scene=2013/07/10
+|Date of Scene=2013/07/02
 |Location=New Orleans
 |Synopsis=A harmless date in New Orleans.  Nothing happens in this scene, except Jazz.  So much Jazz.