⬣//A BRIEF REPRIEVE

[cccorp]

>>Look at me.

⬣//BREATHE. EVERYTHING WILL BE OKAY.

This is your Official™ catch-all log for the month of November. While the boss battles rage on, those of you who are looking to disengage from combat and kick your feet up for a spell can do so here.

Post your open prompts in this post. Closed starters may also be posted here or on @Altimit, but all open posts belong here in this log. Lawbreakers will be bent over the modly knee and paddled into compliance. Thank you.

>>Navigation

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NPC - HEAD ADMIN

[selfconcept]

[ Please comment under the respective header depending on the time. Thanks! ]

Nov 4 - Nov 10

[selfconcept]

[ For those of you who are looking for Hien, there is a note in the Wanderhalle Library and the NPCs at the dog park will tell them the same thing--the head administrator is in Morrigu Barrow Wall, the keywords being ΔHidden Forbidden Bulwark. Go on, there's nothing about strange about it.

At the location high up in the mountains, there is a patch of greenery in front of a large, intimidating stone wall that has long eroded with time. The air is crisp and refreshing. There may be ruins near the wall, but those aren't the focus today. Hien, with his usual attire of a big black cloak with a hood with black shirt and pants--grim reaper-coded ever since the beginning of the beta--is seen with his head tilted up to look at a giant wisteria tree and a magnolia tree side by side. His full head is still wrapped with bandages apart from the sole eye hole with his usual dead-looking black eye. He's always been like this.

When the petals fall, they go through him, just as ethereal as the real thing. The flower trees that are before Hien aren't real, akin to holographic images, but they look real. They can't be touched and any part of the flower and tree can't be gathered. They're merely an image. His little black pomeranian puppy, Rem, prances around the soft grass while trying to paw at the trees, but it goes through them.

The smoky black halo above his head has moved behind Hien's head now instead of being above the head and it occasionally looks as if something is trying to protrude out of it at random intervals in random places of the smoky halo. Just like the trees, the halo is untouchable. Those had seen Hien with it before are able to note that it's grown larger to the diameter of two heads. Hien's back is turned towards where the players would be warping in, but sometimes you might see a realistic eye in the center of the smoky halo that stares at you for a second before it quickly disappears.

Other than that, feel free to message Hien at his inbox! ]

[worldbent]

[A finger jabs into the smoky eye in the midst of the halo, touching nothing, but perhaps chasing away its contents. Menace.]

[After a brief chuckle, Matoba glances over towards the flickering holograms of the trees.]

I dislike that name, you know.

[selfconcept]

[ :'( The eye disappears in fear of Matoba. Fiend.

Hien turns his head to look at him, finally taking a break from looking at the trees. ]

Do you? I like the meaning.

[ He coded himself a book about flower meanings once, since he was curious. ]

... Well, the book had tons of meanings, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be "undying devotion".

[worldbent]

Oh?

[Matoba's small, troublesome smile curls further, his eye trailing off to the side in some thoughtful show of mischief.] Do you think that sounds like me?

[He hates the idea of being thought of that way, regardless of how true it is.]

Nov 7

[justonezero]

[It takes a while to find him. He keeps checking the dog park, but when it becomes clear that isn't where Hien has decided to spend his time anymore, he starts looking through the other special areas and-

Ah.]

...

Is that your eye, or Cubia's?

[selfconcept]

[ Hien slowly turns around to see Nanashi when he asks the question. It's unfortunate though, that he doesn't seem to know what Nanashi is talking about. ]

What eye?

[ The halo is behind his head and hasn't appeared in mirror images, so as far as he knows, he's never had a halo or any of these weird things. ]

[justonezero]

Your halo. You don't see through it?

[That kind of answers itself, though.]

Nov 8

[insinning]

[ Finally released and free from bed rest, Sinclair goes looking for Hien in his usual haunts, only to find the note instead.

Oh.

So he goes to the wall as directed, freezing briefly when he sees that halo and that]

...Hien.

[That eye was familiar]

[selfconcept]

[ He turns around to see Sinclair when his name is called. ]

... Vogel.

[ There's a small pause before he speaks up again. ]

Did you need more books?

5th or 6th, closed to albedo

[selfconcept]

[ The next time Albedo walks in a root town (your choice), he'll find Hien very bloody, lying face down on the ground in a pool of his own blood. The state of his body(?) is absolutely nasty. ]

cw: gross descriptions of a wounded head

[ Upon examination and unrolling the blood soaked bandages from his head, Albedo will see blood that flowed out his ears, mouth, eyes, and nose along with an opened head wound on the back. It's already strange that all this blood poured from the head, but the rest of his body seems fine. ]

[ He thankfully(?) has a single point of health left. Albedo has the chance to do the funniest thing in the game. ]

[alchemicalbirth]

[ Making you retcon future convos would not be cool of me.

Jokes aside, Albedo has no fears still, so he wanders into Naval Monte, perhaps thinking of causing a certain graveyard guard some trouble because he hasn't learned his lesson.

Fortunately, Hien is in the state he is first. Upon discovering the head administrator's near-dead body, he will move to kneel down beside the man, staining blood on his pants, but not being bothered with that. Instead intensely focusing on the issue in front of him. ]

Hien, open your mouth.

[ Even a healer can be too incapacitated to heal thyself. He begins to rummage for some potions... ]

11/08

[tablescraps]

( *STRAIGHTENING OUT THE TIMELINE WITH AN IRON* After replying to Hani's post, Mithrun sets about heading back to Fandom Foodies to go pick up Barrett and maybe ( m a y b e ) get admitted himself. However, Sinclair's message about Hien that comes just after gives him pause. He's indecisive for a time, and unhappy about giving his word to not try to execute Hien on the spot, but, ultimately, this is for the best: he's said he's not going to kill Hien, so a confrontation should be brief. He may as well do it now, before he gets trapped up in the infirmary for a few days.

He knows by now not to take the availability of those who are potentially Phases for granted by now.

When Mithrun gates in, he remains still and quiet for some moments, studying Hien from where he is. The eye that returns his gaze briefly does not startle him, but seems familiar in some general way, the way the eyes across all of them had been.

Eventually, he approaches. His gait is uneven and unstable, but he can keep upright for this brief period of time. Basque is with him, and barks happily at Rem!!!!! New bestie!!!!!!!! (Basque-decided.) She makes herself known before Mithrun does. )

... Did you set that there?

( The tree. )

[selfconcept]

[ Rem barks back at Basque and happily trots over to her. Dog friend!! Play! He's even giving the good old tippy taps.

The eye within the halo stares at Mithrun blankly before disappearing as Hien slowly turns his head to look at Mithrun. ]

I did.

Is there a problem?

Nov 11

[selfconcept]

[ On this day, Hien continues to sit in Morrigu Barrow Wall with the images of the wisteria and magnolia trees. He no longer has bandages around his head and is still wearing the same long black cloak with the hood. He sits on the grass with several journals on his lap.

He still has the black smoky halo behind his head, but by now, it has smooth tipped spikes protruding out of it. His eyes look lost and vacant, but more importantly, they're no longer the black eyes that you're used to seeing on the Head Admin—his iris is checkerboard patterned of black and white.

Perhaps if you call out to him, he might answer.

He can also be reached by his inbox until the 14th! For the rest of the week after that, he will not be responding. He will only be in this location on the 11th. Any day after that, he won't be here. ]

[murrmoire]

[ Hien doesn't look like how Memoir remembers him. Even so, Memoir is aware that Hien has changed, thanks to Sinclair relaying his information to the guild.

Still, he should approach with caution. Hien may be able to smell the recognizable scent of stew. ]

Hien?

[selfconcept]

[ The scent lets him know before Noe talks. He slowly turns around with those strange patterned eyes, looking at Noe, lost and maybe never will be found again. There is no recognition in his eyes. ]

... Do you need something from me?

[insinning]

Hien...?

[When Sinclair had seen the forum posts, he knew he had to look for Hien.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien slowly turns around to face Sinclair. There's no recognition in his eyes when he sees him. ]

Hm...?

[rebelles]

Admin Hien, I've been looking for you. How are you feeling?

[ She doesn't know how to feel - relieved that Hien is still with them or worried that Hien is looking ever worse for the wear. They've brought back one phase after another, which gives her hope, but she knows with a heavy heart they haven't been able to save everyone. ]

[selfconcept]

[ He doesn't turn around at the word "admin", but he does seem to turn his head when called by "Hien". That shouldn't be anything odd, but when he sees at Haru, there is no recognition in his eyes. ]

... I feel lost.

[justonezero]

...

Did your head heal?

[selfconcept]

[ He slowly turns his head to look at Nanashi. There's no recognition in his black and white checkerboard-patterned eyes. ]

My head is fine.

[alchemicalbirth]

[ On the final day before...whatever else may happen, Albedo so happens to make his appearance.

His condition has certainly progressed. Unnerving perhaps to most eyes, the other additions to the halo in particular, but it is the look in his eyes that are worst off to him. Not that image, the lost emotion in particular. ]

Hien.

...What are the journals for?

[selfconcept]

[ He looks at Albedo. There's no look of recognition in his eyes--it's as if he's talking to any stranger. ]

... Makoto's journals. He wrote in them to try and preserve his memories. I want to understand them... I want to understand him, as a person.

[ There's a moment of silence. ]

Will you help me?