Empatheias-themed call me out

[fanfictionming]

"Empatheias is a large, floating island and is the last remnant of a destroyed world. Its only city, Verens, is a somewhat strange place with its steampunk design and magitech technology. No two buildings ever seem to look the same, but perhaps it's not just because of the nature of its fashion. Emotions also help to change and sometimes warp the city and the island itself. Through these emotions, the island continues to grow, revealing more about what happened to the world below. These emotions can also play a role in much smaller ways. A simple laugh can illuminate a room, an angry outburst can shatter windows. The grass can both grow and wither depending on who is standing on it.

These emotions are collected in special crystal amulets and it is this amulet that you will rely on throughout your stay. As you meet and interact with people, explore the world, and go about your daily life, it will fill with the various emotions you experience. Keep it close, for it may prove to be the key to returning home.

Until then, get to know your new "home" and neighbors. Who knows what will be revealed next?"

((OOC: A call-me-out post set in the setting of the Dreamwidth RP Game empatheias. Credit to empatheias for the original concept and description, and credit to molybdenumgp03 for the image.))

Comments

Locked to wavesoakedlegs

[young_oldman]

[It's been...quite stressful for Lu Meng, to say the least. Following his encounter with Guan Xing, Lu Meng has found that his emotions have been in quite a lot of turmoil. If he could be honest...he doesn't regret what he's done. Guan Yu was a threat and had to be neutralized; so were his children. When a warrior takes to the battlefield he or she must understand that death is impartial, and always a hair's breadth away.

There was never anything personal from Lu Meng's side, at least with regards to Guan Yu's children. He only bore some disappointment and anger towards the man himself for his over-bearing arrogance and pompousness, and towards Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei for giving Wu nothing but false hopes and broken promises. Wu is not to be Shu's shield, meant to bear the brunt of Tsao Tsao's anger while their supposed ally flourishes within the shade. Allies help each other out, support each other in their time of need. With Shu though...Wu had just been a quick opportunity, yet another puppet in Zhuge Liang's play. Master Zhou Yu and the whole of Wu had just been collateral damage along Liu Bei's path to benevolence; Lu Meng would never forget that, could never forget that. So when push came to shove he took the opportunity so presented to him, and he made the bed that he laid in that night.

But he will not deny that he had acted dishonourably. And that it is cruel for children to witness their father being put down. Lu Meng had never known his own, the man having died shortly after his birth, but he had his mother and he understood the bond that ties a child to their parent. He prayed to the Buddha that she was shielded from the true cause of his death; that would cause her too much pain and distress then she could bear. But much in the same way he had inflicted a similar pain onto Guan Yu's children. And he had robbed the younger siblings of an older brother as well.

Would he have killed the children? He wonders idly as he gazes into the deep blue sky of Empatheias. The adrenaline, the passion, the anger, the hatred, the vicious bloodlust, the thrill of victory...he had been completely consumed by these intense emotions. Compassion and empathy was nowhere to be found that night, only cold logic.

So yes, he probably would've killed them.

In death he has had the time to think over his actions. And that's a sobering thought, that he would stoop to such levels. And that he would do it again if he had to. It's kept his mood low ever since he and Guan Xing parted ways and swore to stay out of each other's path, out of respect for the laws of the land. That such terrible familicide had to be carried out for the greater cause...the land had truly turned into a bloody stage if such a tale could be stomached by the masses, even championed as a victory.

Lu Meng sighs and glances over to the drooping sunflowers on his right that had just, about five minutes ago, been standing up straight, tall and proud before he had taken his seat here.]

Sorry. I just can't shake this bad mood off.

[It seems funny to address flowers. But Lu Meng can't apologize to Guan Xing. Even if he did it would be scant condolences and probably nothing short of his head would do to soothe the younger man's hurt and justified anger.

The very least he could right now is offer his apologies to the pretty things.]

Locked to thirdarrow

[thatstylishhat]

[Ma Dai stops and considers the small, unassuming shop that he's been directed to, with the display case proudly showcasing rows and rows of reading material. Idly he picks up one and flips through it. He's found that books in Empatheais came binded at the side and consisted of tightly packed thin sheets of a strange, smooth material that a kind stranger, upon seeing his confusion, had explained to him as 'pages'. The words were all 'printed', which he took to mean that they had been stamped onto the pages by a device. It was all quite fascinating for a bookworm like Ma Dai, and the stranger had given him directions to the shop where he had purchased the book.

Empatheias was really an interesting land for Ma Dai, with its technology and its crystals and its people. And he could focus on that curiosity to block out whatever else he might be feeling, including loneliness and homesickness. The darker side of him that he had taken so much care to conceal from everyone remained blotted out by the powerful inquisitive nature of his, and so long as he kept up learning, kept up wanting to learn, he could keep those negative emotions buried underneath. So far his questioning took the form of strange colours and small images that bloomed about his head, revealing some of the thoughts that ran through his head.

The book he's currently browsing discusses technology; it's a little beyond his level, as evidenced by his increasingly puzzled expression and the little painted cogs above his hat that are whirling forward then backward and even flipping on their sides. With a sigh he places the book back on the shelf, the paint-like mechanisms disappearing into a small burst of dripping yet dissolving ink.]

This is more than I can take! Maybe there's an easier book inside.

[Ma Dai pushes the door open, the windchimes nearby tinkling to announce his presence. He calls out anyway, just to be polite and make sure that he's not intruding on anyone.]

He-yo! Is there anyone in?

why do we do this to each other

[danseusing]

[Let's get this straight:

It's not like she hates this place. What she hates is how she's been taken away from her world, from her duty, and forced into another one. Her father was nowhere to be seen, and she can't trust that time will somehow stop back home, no matter what people say. And unfortunately, just dimming these emotions and putting on a pretty face isn't enough here.

Far from it. She'll never get home if she keeps... waffling around, genuinely unsure and genuinely distraught. So instead, she picks herself up, along with her amulet. And she turns her attention to what she's always been spectacular at, for better or for worse.

Diao Chan was made to dance.

The world around her may change. Technology may make leaps and bounds, leaving her behind. The seas and the skies themselves may swap places, or cease to exist at all. But it remains a fact that Diao Chan is very, very good at the things she trains herself to do. Dancing is, technically, just another art that is expected of her. A maid of such a high-class man must be refined, after all.

(Except she is no maid, and he is not just her master. But that's for another day-- if she dwells on that now, it might start raining.)

The unique... intricacies of the world make it hard for her to hide her emotions. But adaptation is key, and she's taken to over-exaggerating her feelings instead when the situation calls for it. She's the perfect image of a 'weak woman', after all-- she can fake a fainting spell to explain why the flowers around her wilting. A spontaneous fever to explain why a tree nearby caught fire. People will be swarming to help her.

At least... those who don't see right through the whole disguise. The people from back home, especially those who've heard the legends of a 'silver-tongued vixen' bringing down a tyrant, would probably be smart enough not to underestimate her from her looks. And yet, she looks so... innocent, now, dancing along the roadside.

Instead of wilting, flowers are springing up at her feet. It's a pretty sight.

If anyone sees her, she may or may not pretend not to notice them.]