Possession Event

[lucetimods]

Who: People in Luceti
What: Spiritual possession
When: The 26th to the 1st
Where: Luceti!
Summary: Check out the previous mod post.
Rating: If it gets smutty, move it somewhere private.


Starting at midnight on the 26th, Luceti and its inhabitants will find itself the focus of the Filial spirits, usually quiet and reclusive, now stepping out to deal with one of their own.

As promised, here is some additional information to help figure out how to play around with the spirits and interacting with similarly possessed people.

First off, each spirit has a certain time or place when they are at their most powerful. Consequently, characters possessed by them will enjoy these boosts and this in itself can be a deciding factor in what would otherwise be a stalemate. Here’s a quick run down:

Sona - She’s most powerful around lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Mostly this is concentrated at the southern lake.

Kipinn - He’s most powerful in high places, like mountain tops and the roofs of community buildings.

Faeren - She’s most powerful in the farmlands alongside things that grow.

Tsinku - He’s most powerful in the village itself, where technology thrives.

Eferin - He’s most powerful in the center of the forest where his heat may cause trees to burn. In fact, the upcoming forest fire may cause some trouble if his followers get too rowdy.

Hyt - It’s most powerful during the daytime under a bright sky.

Twila - It’s most powerful during the night time.

Nala- She has no domain and is generally welcome wherever she goes.

How possessed characters will deal with other possessed characters will depend on the interactions of the spirits themselves. A useful spreadsheet sums up these relationships. Those that have a friendly attitude to one another will generally allow ‘trespassers’ into their domain, but those they are not so friendly with may cause conflict.

Finally, to elaborate on Twila-possessed characters. Those with a natural affinity for darkness are likely to be possessed first. Once they have, they can try to recruit others less-compatible candidates to ‘join the cause’. Their goal is numbers. The more who are working with Twila, the better. Once they do, they’ll be inclined to act in their own self interest and if necessary, deal with others who try to get in their way. In the long term, the spirit Twila wants to stay this way, bonded to the Lucetians as hybrids, that way it cannot be imprisoned again. Think of it as pure survival instinct of an animal that’s spent way too long in a cage.

All isn’t lost. The other spirits may not be able to cage it again, but they won’t accept Twila reacting in this manner. Though it’s hard to tell what their beef with Twila is, they have an instinctive familiarity with the dark spirit and seem to act as its jail keepers.

They have the power to free people from Twila, but given their poor communication skills, figuring that out might just be a challenge. After all, the spirits can only communicate in shades of feeling and intentions, but not actually verbalize directions or marching orders. However, there will be a Malnosso post mid-event that will give everyone, possessed or otherwise, the info they need to turn things around.

Comments

[complicatedliar]

Loki was out and about, thoroughly enjoying himself; perhaps he spotted her before she spotted him. He was eager to see her, however, in such a good mood and wanting to share it. He knew precisely how to share it, too.

He dropped from the sky and landed in the path, pausing to lean against a nearby tree as he offered her a grin. "Fancy meeting you here."

[touchofrogue]

Rogue brought Penny up abruptly when Something Large dropped from the sky. She was on edge, the voices in her mind agitated and an unfamiliar tugging in her mind was more than enough to have her be a bit more cautious. When she saw who it was, she smiled with relief. "Hey."

She began dismount --Wait--

"I was lookin' for you."

--Loki doesn't fly.

Did you ever want to--

Her feet on the ground, Rogue paused, giving Loki a once over. She wasn't what anyone would call spiritually sensitive by any measure, but in her approximately two years in Luceti, Rogue had managed to form bonds with Nala and Eferin. It wasn't those bonds, however, that had her pause. It was Loki himself. She'd made quite a study of him in the past few months. There was something different to him, something appealingly vital that tugged at someplace within her as well as some sort of... something. Something unfamiliar and something that wasn't quite... right.

"Since when did you take up fallin' from the sky?"

[complicatedliar]

Loki laughed. He hadn't felt to relaxed, so very comfortable in his own skin in years. "This morning, actually. It must be some new shift, I suppose. If you look around, there's quite a few people sporting larger wings. Might as well enjoy them while we have them, yes?"

He held out a hand to her.

[touchofrogue]

He sounded exactly like himself, and there was that laugh she loved. Rogue stepped over to him and placed her gloved hand in his, smiling, "I guess so. I must be behind. Though usually it's not just somethin' changing on the outside. You're feeling all right? No sudden urges to go drink mint chocolate milkshakes?"

She'd been worried about him, and it was something that was hard to just set aside. Her wings were currently as they ever were, and it was a strange contrast to see her small white ones opposed to his large black wings.

[complicatedliar]

Loki brought her hand to his lips for a kiss. "I feel better now that you're here." He smiled and kissed her hand again. "Oh dearest. You always worry about me. About so many others. It does you great credit, but I fear sometimes it will wear you away."

[touchofrogue]

Have you ever wondered--

She smiled, relaxing even more to hear him sounding so like himself - or maybe it had to do with those kisses, or even his use of dearest. "You're makin' me sound like one of those grandmas who can't get out of her rockin' chair for fear. Is this your way of tellin' me I'm getting worry lines?"

[complicatedliar]

He laughed, leaning forward to kiss the corner of one of her eyes. "Never." He laughed. "You are perfect, you know. I just hope to see you spend a bit of that worry on yourself and what you want." He moved to kiss the corner of her other eye. "Not every desire is an enemy, I should hope. Though I am glad you came to find me."

[touchofrogue]

Perfect, huh? Rogue couldn't help but smile at his silliness, placing one hand lightly on his chest in response to his kisses.

--what it would be like--

"Yeah?" she teased. "You like havin' a girlfriend who'd come lookin' for you at the drop of a hat, is that it?"

[complicatedliar]

Loki laughed. "I do like to pretend I'm the center of the world." He gave her a crooked smile. "And then you can be the center of mine, yes?"

[touchofrogue]

"Sounds like an even trade," Rogue teased, wanting to keep it light, when really she thought it also sounded rather terrifying. "So what have you been doin' with these new wings of yours?"

...it was, perhaps, fortunate that Loki couldn't hear Rogue's tone of voice. As she'd started speaking she'd suddenly found herself wondering if they were as sensitive as his regular pair, and a little bit of that speculation had leaked into her tone.

[complicatedliar]

"I'd hoped you'd think so." He grinned. "Oh, just flying about. It's so nice to actually be able to fly in truth. Such a strange feeling. Exhilarating, I suppose."

[touchofrogue]

Of all the powers she'd ever stolen, flying was, perhaps, Rogue's absolute favorite.

Did you ever wonder--

Rogue tilted her head to try to see the wings in question fully, but didn't quite get the complete view. "Oh, you suppose?" she teased. "Turn around. Let's see 'em."

[complicatedliar]

"All right." He laughed and turned so she could inspect the wings. "Well?"

[touchofrogue]

Rogue took in the magnificent spread of his wings and shook her head. "I think I'm jealous," she said, and then deliberately reached out to trace up the base of one of his wings.

[complicatedliar]

He gasped, then shot her a mischievous look. "Nothing wrong with a bit of jealousy. I'd certainly like to have you flying with me."

[touchofrogue]

His gasp filled Rogue with satisfaction. Good. She was glad that still worked. And look at the breadth of feathers she'd have to play with...

"Yeah, but it looked like it skipped me for now," she said, tugging his arm to turn him back around so he wouldn't have to keep looking over his shoulder at her in order to read her lips.

--what it would be like--

"I wonder why they're black now. Logan's were too, but I've seen all kinds of colors today."

[complicatedliar]

Loki slipped an arm around her waist, urging her closer. His other hand came up to touch her cheek.

Well. Nice to know Logan would be useful for once in his life.

"I wager it'll come to you. That is how these things tend to work. As for the color... well, who knows. It works rather nicely for me, I think." He grinned, then placed a light kiss on her lips. "So, shall we have a little flight?"

[touchofrogue]

Rogue tilted her head to receive his kiss and took hold of his tunic while he spoke. She affected an even more dramatic Southern Belle, moving back and forth slightly in his arm as he spoke, "You mean you'll take me up in your arms, an' hold me tight while I cling on to you for dear life?"

She slid her hands up his chest to wrap her arms loosely around his neck, and then leaned up to give him a lingering kiss. Pulling back, she smiled at him and said, "Sounds like fun."

It would be more fun, really, if she wasn't depending on him and could fly all by herself. But it was more important, she thought, to show him how much she trusted him. It was important as well to prove to herself that though his wings had changed, nothing really important between them had changed. And if all that was true, it sounded like fun.

[complicatedliar]

He laughed. "It does sound very nice when you put it like that." He kissed her back.

He paused for a moment, working a bit of tricky magic that would temporarily make their combined weight light enough. It was more effort than it was worth normally, but he wanted to make the point.

Then with his arms tight around her, he took off.

"It's quite fun," he remarked after a moment. "Just not having to worry at all."

[touchofrogue]

There was something wonderful about being up in the air, with the wind in her face. Being carried was in no way the same as actually flying, and Rogue meant it when she'd said she was jealous; stupid, useless wings, if she was going to have them they might as well be good for something.

"I love flying," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's the most free feeling in the world. I'm glad you get to experience it too."

Don't you want to just--

[complicatedliar]

He grinned. "It is very freeing."

He nuzzled her hair for a moment, then said, "I like it when you are free. And not just for such selfish reasons, though I admit to having those too. You hold yourself so tightly, and you are beautiful. But when you take your freedom and let go of worry, you are glorious."

[touchofrogue]

Rogue's ever-present sense of self-recrimination kicked into full drive at that. This was Loki. He never said something without a purpose. He'd never hinted at an inadequacy with her before, but now... now all she heard was a comparison where she was coming up short to something she wasn't even sure she knew he was comparing her to - to when she was free? What was he talking about?

...he'd said she was beautiful when the psyches took control was that it, was that possibly it, was it again about her power?

Her heart squeezed hard in preparation for the pain everyone had told her was coming and she had believed was worth the risk to face. Despite herself, Rogue held on to him a little tighter.

"Loki? I don't know what you're saying." She looked at him, eyes a little wide with a shadow of wary pain in them, "Are you tryin' to tell me something?"

[complicatedliar]

Loki shook his head, his arms tightening around her in response. "Don't look so dire, dearest. I thought you knew by now that I am yours, yes? There are no conditions to that and never have been."

Internally, something very selfish squirmed at the notion of being so giving, and he quashed it. There was always give and take. This was something he wanted; that order of selfishness was far superior to the one demanding that everything have a price paid in full.

"What I mean is this. You draw into yourself with worry and fear. And I wish you free of that. I think you would be happier if you did not fight yourself. You have often told me you wish me to be free. Well, I wish the same for you." He took a moment to lean down and kiss her. "You deserve every happiness, including the fullness of my own paltry offering. Do you understand now?"

[touchofrogue]

No. She didn't like this. Even as he kissed her, she didn't like it, which was something that had never happened before.

"I think I'd like to go down now," Rogue said quietly, feeling sick. Because all she could hear was Loki urging her to be something other than she was, to be free

Don't you want to just let go?

and didn't he know that when she was free, people got hurt? How much more free could she be, anyway? She was up in his arms, had given herself over to him and how dare he try to tell her who she was, or how best to manage her own life?

"And you've got a fat lot of nerve to talk to me right now about whether I'm letting myself be happy." Anger quickly burned away the feelings of sick inadequacy and weakness, and Rogue embraced it as a refuge. "What do ya think I was feelin' with you a minute ago, some kinda shoddy shadow? Bring us down right now."

[complicatedliar]

if she's going to be like this, just drop her. No point in putting up with it, the nerve of that attitude when you're just trying to help

For a moment, he almost obeyed that urge, his arms loosening slightly. Then a spasm of something crossed his face and his arms tightened again.

"I'll keep that in mind the next time you tell me I ought to be free or be happy," he said, hiding his momentary confusion and conflict in a dry tone. "That isn't what I'm saying at all and you know it. But as you like."

He went into a dive, something that would have been fun if she hadn't gotten all strange and angry at him for no good reason. On the ground, he pulled his arms away.