Who: The Mizuki Quest Crew What: Mizuki Quest When: Roughly around the end of Feburary Where: The Caerula Arbor Warnings: Will come up in tags when appears
[... so, it seems like they're either truly trapped by the arbor, or "trapped" only by mizuki's mind. whether or not the jelly is even consciously controlling it is yet another thing they can't know for certain... so there's no telling whether this would actually hurt them...
look, livio isn't stupid, but he sees most everyone else either panicking or debating testing their luck against the fire... and he's kind of fucking sick of just standing around uselessly. he'll grit his teeth and step into the flames before anyone else gets the chance. god knows he's endured worse -- he's nowhere near immune to pain, but he's a goddamn expert at carrying on through it.
[That was also Dipper's thought, too. That all of this was starting to look like an illusion, like some kind of mindscape, and that maybe Mizuki was the center of it all.]
[But his powers have still been working on an individual scale, which means...]
...Let me try. Either Mizuki or the Arbor, I can try and wake them up.
[But, this will probably be a lot rougher than Joshua and Gnosis. Mizuki is a hive mind and kind of eldritch like he is.]
[ Surprise, Affogato might actually care? So when Livio just fucking walks into the fire he pulls away from Mizuki so he's not shrieking in his ear. ]
WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
[ It may not be real but it feels hot, and that means it's probably going to hurt. Someone take Mizuki from him so he can GRAB THE IDIOT OR SOMEONE ELSE GRAB HIM BACK OUT HELLO?! ]
The Arbor does not answer Gnosis, unfortunately. There's that ship-creaking sound as it shifts and moves again, but otherwise, there's nothing it seems to do to help here. Perhaps it does not care to help? It's functionally dead, after all. There's really no reason to react to anything beyond instinct. There might be something else to do that may grant it attention, but that much isn't entirely clear.
Mizuki does not wake up. He still seems concerned, but the distress seems to have died down a tad.
As for Livio... Sorry, buddy. You can know it's not real fire, tell yourself it's not real fire, have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that this is not real fire, but regardless it still feels so, so real. It is horribly hot, like you're being doused with lava or melting glass, which is truly worse than simply throwing yourself into some flames. You're not dying, you think. Probably. You don't think you can die, but passing out is a real possibility. So, will you keep going?
Dipper and Joshua do have the floor if they wish to proceed with their ideas.
[what is he doing? well, he was trying to figure out whether this was a trick, or maybe the "fire" was only a few inches deep... but it feels just as real as the others said it would. worse, even! and while livio can handle the pain, affogato isn't the only one who thinks he's an idiot for trying.
his pained shout becomes more like a snarl -- and forms words -- as he rounds and stomps back into the center.]
GOD -- FUCKING -- DAMMIT!!!SHIT! [razlo swipes at his arms as if trying to pat off real flames despite the lack thereof. it fucking sucks not being able to hit the thing that's hurting him.
well. walk into fire, get yanked out of the driver's seat. you know how it is.]
[There is something of a sympathetic hiss as Razlo comes back. Well, he didn't look burned, but Dipper knows that sometimes illusions don't need to be real for the brain to think it is, and sometimes that's all it takes for the nervous system to kick in.]
[Yeah, he isn't seeing another way out of this. He takes a deep breath and walks over to Affogato and Mizuki.]
I'll give it a shot but ...look. I'll be up front. I have an idea of what might be waiting for me in there, and there's a very real chance that Mizuki and the We Many might fry my sanity.
[Dipper looks over his shoulder at some of the others. Not to Sesa, he knows Sesa is a pacifist, but to Gnosis, Razlo, maybe even Joshua.]
If that happens and I start to turn into something, you've got to do whatever it takes to stop me, okay?
Dipper will be able to try to get into Mizuki's mind, but perhaps unsurprisingly to him, it's not so easy. He's only able to get so far before there's something pushing back against him. Perhaps it's the vengeful dead god they're currently beneath, or perhaps it's Mizuki himself, not wanting Dipper to end up in the same fate as him. Unclear, in the moment. But the simple act of the attempt is enough to get some reaction, at least.
That said, it's not necessarily a good one.
Instead of some vague semblance of an illusion - fake water, fake fire, a disembodied voice - it becomes a lot clearer. You all are no longer standing in some vague little circle with fire all around and unable to see out beyond that. No, no, now the hallucination gets intense. So sorry to all of you, when you're attacked with one hell of a headache later. For now... you are all in a little fishing village. You're pretty sure the Arbor is still above you, but you can see a sky and clouds and out over the horizon, where the vision "glitches" if you look too far out. If you look out towards the ocean, it's a normally little place - kids laughing and running around, people (most with some fish-like features) discussing their day, fisherman coming with hauls of food. You can catch all of this out of your peripheral.
Yet, looking away from the ocean and back to the village itself and you'll see it aflame. The very same fire you were all previously trapped around. The streets are... fortunately, empty, but judging from the moon high in the sky, it's likely that inside these burning buildings have the folk you'd seen walking the roads before. There are... shadow-y, glitchy silhouettes that run through the streets. Placeholders for people who's faces cannot be remembered.
...
The fire is gone, now, though! You don't have to get stuck in this silly cutscene, damn it. Where's the press Y to Skip option?? You can attempt to see if you can find the edges of the Arbor. You could call out to the little baby Seaborn who are wildly confused as to why you all are acting like you'd just been through hell. You could investigate the frantic "No!"s coming from the end of the street. Dipper could attempt yet again to get back in. You all could have a spontaneous dance party! The world's your oyster.
[At this point, Sesa feels like a hollowed out, empty husk.
His emotions are raw, worn completely thin as he's ping-ponged between terror, confusion, revulsion (at himself), humiliation (also at himself), and despair. Now, yet again, the flames of retribution have come once more to swallow them whole, only this time they're bearing witness to the destruction of yet more innocents.
He does not have to think terribly hard to wonder over the significance of this little fishing village.
The others have been speaking, trying to dispel the flames via Gnosis, tapping into Mizuki's mind via Dipper, or stepping into the fucking fire, as was the case with Livio, and now they're stuck in this mass hallucination...memory. It's a memory, of that Sesa is certain.
And though they've been shown time and again that acting impulsively is the wrong choice in situations like these, Sesa isn't thinking super clearly right now, too wracked with anger on Mizuki's behalf.
He pulls back from the group, just a fraction, and then starts for the end of the street to investigate the shouting.]
Gnosis pivots on his heel and charges after Sesa, not sure what else to do. He knows this is an illusion now, obviously, and he's made that much clear — but that doesn't solve the issue, now does it?]
[ Oh, Founder. The last thing they need is to rush off in separate directions like this, illusion or not. But after getting a peek into Sesa's mind, the behavior concerns him even more than the separation.
But the cries that Sesa, and now Gnosis, are charging off toward are like some sort of beacon. Perhaps... perhaps that is where they are to go next.
He turns, glancing to the others. ]
We should stick together. If some of us go, we all should go.
[razlo would Like to judge you guys, but he's self-aware enough to know he wouldn't be able to stop himself from punching whoever made a comment about livio's dumbass decisions. instead, he just rolls his eyes and SIGHS dramatically before addressing affo.]
Hold on tight t'Squirt.
[and once affogato has a decent grip on mizuki (it BETTER be good) razlo is just. hefting affo up by the back of the shirt and carrying him along like a briefcase.]
[ Well, to be fair, Affogato did make a comment about Livio's dumbass decision to walk into the fire. He frowns at Razlo, tightens his grip on Mizuki, then makes the MOST OFFENDED EXPRESSION when he's picked up LIKE THAT?!
Also the most offended noises, if you're going to haul him around, HAUL HIM AROUND PROPERLY YOU BRAINLESS MEATWAD. He really sounds like an upset cat right now, picked up by the scruff of the neck while it clings it it's favorite kick toy. But at least it does tote Mizuki around without having Affo dangling off of him in return? ]
Fantastic job, everyone. We're certainly doing. What we're doing is still up in the air, but we certainly are doing it.
The image of the house and faces as they approach the sound get clearer as they approach.
Looking towards the ocean, and you'd easily be able to see this was once... well, Mizuki's home. The calmer scene appears to you like a lenticular image if your gaze goes to the ocean at all, and you'll see a much tinier Mizuki happily running around, with a woman with pink hair playing chase and picking up the little jellyfish to spin him around. They seem happy.
...
In the doorway to the house, still left open, you'll see the same pink haired woman on the ground. You think there's some sort of head trauma - but the actual scene itself is hard to make out due to pixelated, static-y artifacts that aren't making it entirely clear. There are three men inside. A phidia, an oni, and a liberi. They seem to be "talking", but you cannot hear anything. Then, the scene glitches, and it repeats, like you're watching a video on loop. Looking around, you see other of these repeating glitchy scenes. A small Mizuki running from a room, frantic and afraid. The bandits throwing molotovs at the house. The woman inside running across the house with Mizuki in her arms to another room. The oni and the phidia arguing.
...Hm. Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how fucked up would it be if Mizuki made a puzzle out of his trauma? Asking for a friend.
[well, this is all sorts of fucked up. homes burned, innocents murdered, mother figures dead on the ground. good thing raz took over, because liv would probably just be bawling about it all right now.
... razlo, on the other hand, lifts affogato high up enough that he can almost, almost speak directly to mizuki's sleeping face.]
Hey. Hey. This better not be an elaborate ploy to get us to therapize you.
He's looking on at all of this, these visions of what he knows must be the past, and he's trembling. It's incredibly difficult to see how Mizuki used to be, happy and loved with his family, and then...
All of that ripped away in an instant, and for what?
He knows this sort of sight isn't uncommon in Terra, these days. With the Infection running rampant across the world, people are no longer kind to one another. It's every man for himself, and to go to the lengths to help others above their own is honestly too much effort for most. But that doesn't make it any less unfair.
The others joined him over here, witness to the horror and atrocities. Nothing really needs to be said, though Sesa isn't sure he could say anything right now even if he wanted. He recognizes the Phidia and Oni, but doesn't pay them any attention right now as he tries to scan the immediate area. Is there anything out of place here? Anything that might seem worth investigating, or are they simply a captive audience?]
[Sesa is so smart to be looking. Unfortunately Gnosis just decides to barge into the scene and touch stuff, Again, because he didn't learn the first time.
Where baby Mizuki is cowering, if he can pick him up and interfere with this at all — because good Lord this is brutal and he wishes it would just stop for Mizuki's sake more than theirs — he will do so. Scooped like kitten. Taken from scene.
His child now sorry—]
Don't worry. We'll keep you safe.
[A nod to Sesa and Razlo and Joshua and.......... luggage-Affo he supposes.]
Dipper and Jade are playing Pac-Man in the back dw- (this is a joke)
Sesa will notice that each "scene" is happening simultaneously. It's disorienting, really. The "fire" on the house is not spreading, but that doesn't mean time isn't of the essence here. Sesa might be able to put together... that there's some why to play the "scene", perhaps in an specific order? How do do that...
Well, small Mizuki has been scooped! Unfortunately, he still glitches and renders as if he's out of an old TV, and holding him feels a bit like picking up hair. There's just static snow in the place where he was hoisted. But all of the other "scenes" disappear. It's just the image of the static-zuki running outside on loop.
Seeing all of these scenes play out simultaneously really does feel like they're watching a movie that's so old that it keeps skipping, scenes replaying, being skipped awkwardly, over and over...and then when Gnosis scoops Mizuki up, the other scenes disappear and they're just left with the one.]
If moving parts cause the other memories to halt, showing only one at a time...
[Sesa looks back over his shoulder.]
Perhaps we do need to take it apart. Just in the order they happened.
[Forced to watch them all in more direct clarity YAAY
Now the question is...what order is correct? Perhaps the order of operations is easy enough to surmise, but...it's still going to take some trial and error, and an amount of rewatching the horror he isn't looking forward to.]
Try it, and let's see. We can start at the one that seems to be the "beginning".
[The only issue is he's not sure how to even tell if/when they're doing it right, but that's how it goes with these things...you just have to sort of. Do.]
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look, livio isn't stupid, but he sees most everyone else either panicking or debating testing their luck against the fire... and he's kind of fucking sick of just standing around uselessly. he'll grit his teeth and step into the flames before anyone else gets the chance. god knows he's endured worse -- he's nowhere near immune to pain, but he's a goddamn expert at carrying on through it.
better him than anyone else.]
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[But his powers have still been working on an individual scale, which means...]
...Let me try. Either Mizuki or the Arbor, I can try and wake them up.
[But, this will probably be a lot rougher than Joshua and Gnosis. Mizuki is a hive mind and kind of eldritch like he is.]
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WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
[ It may not be real but it feels hot, and that means it's probably going to hurt. Someone take Mizuki from him so he can GRAB THE IDIOT OR SOMEONE ELSE GRAB HIM BACK OUT HELLO?! ]
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Mizuki does not wake up. He still seems concerned, but the distress seems to have died down a tad.
As for Livio... Sorry, buddy. You can know it's not real fire, tell yourself it's not real fire, have proof beyond a reasonable doubt that this is not real fire, but regardless it still feels so, so real. It is horribly hot, like you're being doused with lava or melting glass, which is truly worse than simply throwing yourself into some flames. You're not dying, you think. Probably. You don't think you can die, but passing out is a real possibility. So, will you keep going?
Dipper and Joshua do have the floor if they wish to proceed with their ideas.
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his pained shout becomes more like a snarl -- and forms words -- as he rounds and stomps back into the center.]
GOD -- FUCKING -- DAMMIT!!! SHIT! [razlo swipes at his arms as if trying to pat off real flames despite the lack thereof. it fucking sucks not being able to hit the thing that's hurting him.
well. walk into fire, get yanked out of the driver's seat. you know how it is.]
Nobody fuckin' try that shit! Christ!
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Tell your other half he's an IDIOT?!
[ Then wraps his arms around Mizuki again because he seems to have lost some of his distress and that's what Affogato wanted. ]
If this is caused by Mizuki, he must be awaken. I'm afraid while I have eased his distress somewhat, I do not have the ability to rouse him.
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[Yeah, he isn't seeing another way out of this. He takes a deep breath and walks over to Affogato and Mizuki.]
I'll give it a shot but ...look. I'll be up front. I have an idea of what might be waiting for me in there, and there's a very real chance that Mizuki and the We Many might fry my sanity.
[Dipper looks over his shoulder at some of the others. Not to Sesa, he knows Sesa is a pacifist, but to Gnosis, Razlo, maybe even Joshua.]
If that happens and I start to turn into something, you've got to do whatever it takes to stop me, okay?
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But Dipper is another option. Joshua listens as he explains. This isn't an easy choice, but it may be the only one they've got. ]
I will do what I must. You have my word.
[ Whatever that might be. ]
cw: death + child death implications
That said, it's not necessarily a good one.
Instead of some vague semblance of an illusion - fake water, fake fire, a disembodied voice - it becomes a lot clearer. You all are no longer standing in some vague little circle with fire all around and unable to see out beyond that. No, no, now the hallucination gets intense. So sorry to all of you, when you're attacked with one hell of a headache later. For now... you are all in a little fishing village. You're pretty sure the Arbor is still above you, but you can see a sky and clouds and out over the horizon, where the vision "glitches" if you look too far out. If you look out towards the ocean, it's a normally little place - kids laughing and running around, people (most with some fish-like features) discussing their day, fisherman coming with hauls of food. You can catch all of this out of your peripheral.
Yet, looking away from the ocean and back to the village itself and you'll see it aflame. The very same fire you were all previously trapped around. The streets are... fortunately, empty, but judging from the moon high in the sky, it's likely that inside these burning buildings have the folk you'd seen walking the roads before. There are... shadow-y, glitchy silhouettes that run through the streets. Placeholders for people who's faces cannot be remembered.
...
The fire is gone, now, though! You don't have to get stuck in this silly cutscene, damn it. Where's the press Y to Skip option?? You can attempt to see if you can find the edges of the Arbor. You could call out to the little baby Seaborn who are wildly confused as to why you all are acting like you'd just been through hell. You could investigate the frantic "No!"s coming from the end of the street. Dipper could attempt yet again to get back in. You all could have a spontaneous dance party! The world's your oyster.
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His emotions are raw, worn completely thin as he's ping-ponged between terror, confusion, revulsion (at himself), humiliation (also at himself), and despair. Now, yet again, the flames of retribution have come once more to swallow them whole, only this time they're bearing witness to the destruction of yet more innocents.
He does not have to think terribly hard to wonder over the significance of this little fishing village.
The others have been speaking, trying to dispel the flames via Gnosis, tapping into Mizuki's mind via Dipper, or stepping into the fucking fire, as was the case with Livio, and now they're stuck in this mass hallucination...memory. It's a memory, of that Sesa is certain.
And though they've been shown time and again that acting impulsively is the wrong choice in situations like these, Sesa isn't thinking super clearly right now, too wracked with anger on Mizuki's behalf.
He pulls back from the group, just a fraction, and then starts for the end of the street to investigate the shouting.]
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Gnosis pivots on his heel and charges after Sesa, not sure what else to do. He knows this is an illusion now, obviously, and he's made that much clear — but that doesn't solve the issue, now does it?]
Sesa, don't charge off alone.
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But the cries that Sesa, and now Gnosis, are charging off toward are like some sort of beacon. Perhaps... perhaps that is where they are to go next.
He turns, glancing to the others. ]
We should stick together. If some of us go, we all should go.
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Hold on tight t'Squirt.
[and once affogato has a decent grip on mizuki (it BETTER be good) razlo is just. hefting affo up by the back of the shirt and carrying him along like a briefcase.]
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Also the most offended noises, if you're going to haul him around, HAUL HIM AROUND PROPERLY YOU BRAINLESS MEATWAD. He really sounds like an upset cat right now, picked up by the scruff of the neck while it clings it it's favorite kick toy. But at least it does tote Mizuki around without having Affo dangling off of him in return? ]
You-!
cw: still death and dying
The image of the house and faces as they approach the sound get clearer as they approach.
Looking towards the ocean, and you'd easily be able to see this was once... well, Mizuki's home. The calmer scene appears to you like a lenticular image if your gaze goes to the ocean at all, and you'll see a much tinier Mizuki happily running around, with a woman with pink hair playing chase and picking up the little jellyfish to spin him around. They seem happy.
...
In the doorway to the house, still left open, you'll see the same pink haired woman on the ground. You think there's some sort of head trauma - but the actual scene itself is hard to make out due to pixelated, static-y artifacts that aren't making it entirely clear. There are three men inside. A phidia, an oni, and a liberi. They seem to be "talking", but you cannot hear anything. Then, the scene glitches, and it repeats, like you're watching a video on loop. Looking around, you see other of these repeating glitchy scenes. A small Mizuki running from a room, frantic and afraid. The bandits throwing molotovs at the house. The woman inside running across the house with Mizuki in her arms to another room. The oni and the phidia arguing.
...Hm. Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how fucked up would it be if Mizuki made a puzzle out of his trauma? Asking for a friend.
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... razlo, on the other hand, lifts affogato high up enough that he can almost, almost speak directly to mizuki's sleeping face.]
Hey. Hey. This better not be an elaborate ploy to get us to therapize you.
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He's looking on at all of this, these visions of what he knows must be the past, and he's trembling. It's incredibly difficult to see how Mizuki used to be, happy and loved with his family, and then...
All of that ripped away in an instant, and for what?
He knows this sort of sight isn't uncommon in Terra, these days. With the Infection running rampant across the world, people are no longer kind to one another. It's every man for himself, and to go to the lengths to help others above their own is honestly too much effort for most. But that doesn't make it any less unfair.
The others joined him over here, witness to the horror and atrocities. Nothing really needs to be said, though Sesa isn't sure he could say anything right now even if he wanted. He recognizes the Phidia and Oni, but doesn't pay them any attention right now as he tries to scan the immediate area. Is there anything out of place here? Anything that might seem worth investigating, or are they simply a captive audience?]
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Where baby Mizuki is cowering, if he can pick him up and interfere with this at all — because good Lord this is brutal and he wishes it would just stop for Mizuki's sake more than theirs — he will do so. Scooped like kitten. Taken from scene.
His child now sorry—]
Don't worry. We'll keep you safe.
[A nod to Sesa and Razlo and Joshua and.......... luggage-Affo he supposes.]
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Sesa will notice that each "scene" is happening simultaneously. It's disorienting, really. The "fire" on the house is not spreading, but that doesn't mean time isn't of the essence here. Sesa might be able to put together... that there's some why to play the "scene", perhaps in an specific order? How do do that...
Well, small Mizuki has been scooped! Unfortunately, he still glitches and renders as if he's out of an old TV, and holding him feels a bit like picking up hair. There's just static snow in the place where he was hoisted. But all of the other "scenes" disappear. It's just the image of the static-zuki running outside on loop.
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...
Okay! I think I broke it.
[Gestures to the Mizuki-shaped hole in the world, gestures again to the Mizuki shaped static running.]
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Seeing all of these scenes play out simultaneously really does feel like they're watching a movie that's so old that it keeps skipping, scenes replaying, being skipped awkwardly, over and over...and then when Gnosis scoops Mizuki up, the other scenes disappear and they're just left with the one.]
If moving parts cause the other memories to halt, showing only one at a time...
[Sesa looks back over his shoulder.]
Perhaps we do need to take it apart. Just in the order they happened.
[Forced to watch them all in more direct clarity YAAY
Now the question is...what order is correct? Perhaps the order of operations is easy enough to surmise, but...it's still going to take some trial and error, and an amount of rewatching the horror he isn't looking forward to.]
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...
Should I put him back?
[Hefts baby jebblyfish... he thinks he needs to put him back.]
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A beat, two. ]
The one you are holding is near to last, if not last. The fact the little one running has remained might suggest it is first?
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[The only issue is he's not sure how to even tell if/when they're doing it right, but that's how it goes with these things...you just have to sort of. Do.]
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1/2 same cws here, death, child death, u kno the drill-
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