The Shimmer Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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theshimmer2020-07-18 12:17 am
shimmermods) wrote in theshimmer2020-07-18 12:17 am
Welcome.
WELCOME
The Shimmer is beautiful.
There are a lot of things that may or may not have been expected upon your arrival here – the walls of concrete and steel, the others that were brought here with you, the others that weren't brought here with you but have been a constant source of information and instruction and blatant, brazen surveillance – but the fact remains that this world does not seem, inherently, to be an unkind one. Foreign in some ways, perhaps familiar in others; either way, it's a world teeming with life, and with people, and perhaps most jarringly it's a world with beauty, and nothing you've seen otherwise is quite as repulsively and grotesquely beautiful as the Shimmer.
It defies desription, really; the boundaries of it are barely visible during the day, just a thin iridescent sheen encompassing the trees and thick-growing vegetation of the mountains, sweeping ever-closer and closer still to the boundaries of the compound you've been living in but are greatly unlikely to have come to call home. It cascades heavily down the face of the mountain, nestling into the tops of trees before it swallows them whole, arcing up into the sky so far that it hurts your eyes to try to find the crest. It seems almost ravenous in its grace; whatever it touches, it seems to consume.
At night, it's a different matter; it glows and dances in defiance of the bright lights of the compound, glistening bright like the Northern lights - a bit too low to the ground, a bit too far south, a bit too warm this time of year, but the effect is breathtaking. All the colors of the borealis seem to blink lazily at you as they twist in and out of view, sparkling scattershot among the remnants of a town about two miles off that has long since gone dark with abandonment and disuse.
Your mission begins tomorrow.
Your mission begins tomorrow and maybe you're ready for it, maybe you aren't; maybe you're trying not to think about it too much. But the fact of the matter is that there's a rooftop observation deck, open-air and about five stories off the ground, and it's granting you an optimal view of the surroundings and the Shimmer and that darkened town not too far off, and there are no other buildings around for miles. The air is balmy and humid, a little too warm to be pleasant but lacking the roiling heat of the day, a light breeze rendering the entire thing an acceptable respite from the training grounds within the building itself. The only sound this high up and this close to the Shimmer are those made by the people who are here with you – some you know, some you don't. Some are more recent arrivals than others; some have been here for just as long as you. You've all had information taken down about you, the results of which have been provided to you on a small device you found in your room, so perhaps it feels as though you know these people already.
Either way, the night is young, the sun having dipped below the horizon less than half an hour ago, leaving you with perimeter lights that are too bright and the ever-present, watchful glow of the Shimmer; there are tables set up around the balcony for you to use, to eat or socialize or just...sit. You haven't been deprived by any means, but the food that's been provided out here for you tonight is noticeably better than usual; perhaps they know it's the last time you'll eat well for a while. Perhaps it's an apology. Perhaps it's nothing to look into too deeply.
Feel free to stay out here for as long as you like; enjoy each other's company. Or don't let yourself enjoy it too much; it's up to you.
However you choose to do it, perhaps it's best to make sure you have no regrets.
There are a lot of things that may or may not have been expected upon your arrival here – the walls of concrete and steel, the others that were brought here with you, the others that weren't brought here with you but have been a constant source of information and instruction and blatant, brazen surveillance – but the fact remains that this world does not seem, inherently, to be an unkind one. Foreign in some ways, perhaps familiar in others; either way, it's a world teeming with life, and with people, and perhaps most jarringly it's a world with beauty, and nothing you've seen otherwise is quite as repulsively and grotesquely beautiful as the Shimmer.
It defies desription, really; the boundaries of it are barely visible during the day, just a thin iridescent sheen encompassing the trees and thick-growing vegetation of the mountains, sweeping ever-closer and closer still to the boundaries of the compound you've been living in but are greatly unlikely to have come to call home. It cascades heavily down the face of the mountain, nestling into the tops of trees before it swallows them whole, arcing up into the sky so far that it hurts your eyes to try to find the crest. It seems almost ravenous in its grace; whatever it touches, it seems to consume.
At night, it's a different matter; it glows and dances in defiance of the bright lights of the compound, glistening bright like the Northern lights - a bit too low to the ground, a bit too far south, a bit too warm this time of year, but the effect is breathtaking. All the colors of the borealis seem to blink lazily at you as they twist in and out of view, sparkling scattershot among the remnants of a town about two miles off that has long since gone dark with abandonment and disuse.
Your mission begins tomorrow.
Your mission begins tomorrow and maybe you're ready for it, maybe you aren't; maybe you're trying not to think about it too much. But the fact of the matter is that there's a rooftop observation deck, open-air and about five stories off the ground, and it's granting you an optimal view of the surroundings and the Shimmer and that darkened town not too far off, and there are no other buildings around for miles. The air is balmy and humid, a little too warm to be pleasant but lacking the roiling heat of the day, a light breeze rendering the entire thing an acceptable respite from the training grounds within the building itself. The only sound this high up and this close to the Shimmer are those made by the people who are here with you – some you know, some you don't. Some are more recent arrivals than others; some have been here for just as long as you. You've all had information taken down about you, the results of which have been provided to you on a small device you found in your room, so perhaps it feels as though you know these people already.
Either way, the night is young, the sun having dipped below the horizon less than half an hour ago, leaving you with perimeter lights that are too bright and the ever-present, watchful glow of the Shimmer; there are tables set up around the balcony for you to use, to eat or socialize or just...sit. You haven't been deprived by any means, but the food that's been provided out here for you tonight is noticeably better than usual; perhaps they know it's the last time you'll eat well for a while. Perhaps it's an apology. Perhaps it's nothing to look into too deeply.
Feel free to stay out here for as long as you like; enjoy each other's company. Or don't let yourself enjoy it too much; it's up to you.
However you choose to do it, perhaps it's best to make sure you have no regrets.
no subject
Either way, though, Felicia puts a smile on her face as she catches the blanket ball, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand once she catches it.]
Oh, yes, it is! I'm really, really sorry that it hit you in the head--it won't happen again, I swear! This little blanket's going right back where it belongs...
no subject
Let's hope so. Though if you're that careless with supplies once we're out in the field, we'll all have worse things to worry about.
no subject
I-I know we will. We're already going to have so much to worry about once we get inside of the Shimmer, but that's why I'm not going to let something like that happen again once we're in there!
[...She can't exactly assure that, but by the gods, she's gonna try.]
Not when we've got so many people relying on us...
no subject
He smiles. ]
Then I'm glad we're on the same page. I'll be sure to hold you to it.
no subject
[Felicia's absolutely just gonna force up a smile and act like this. Isn't a problem. It's fine, there's nothing wrong with this, feeling like shit isn't gonna cause problems, it's fiiiine.
Never the less, though, she's just. Gonna get folding that blanket up, however--gotta make it look neat before it goes back into the bag.]
Ah, how are you feeling about going into this tomorrow?
[May as well try to make some small talk. Maybe building support ranks will be good for keeping them safe??]
no subject
Well enough. Even if we don't really know what to expect, I don't think it's entirely unlike the missions I've done before.
[ It feels weird being this open about what his department actually does, but it hardly matters at this point; even if it somehow caused trouble in his world, he won't be there anymore to get burned.
Also, fuck Bisley. ]
I'd feel better about it if I had my usual abilities, of course, but I think I'll manage.
no subject
[Ah yes, there's the Entirely Too Twee demeanor coming out to play again--of course, at the mention of abilities, Felicia tilts her head.]
You've lost some of them too? ...If it's okay to ask, what did you lose?
no subject
[ Somehow he kind of doubts that they're really talking about the same kinds of missions! ]
My main ability allowed for space-time manipulation to an extent, and came with general improvements to areas like strength and agility.
[ He is vastly underselling what this power could actually do, but that's intentional. ]
no subject
[Felicia trails off a bit there, but she listens pretty intently to Rideaux's description, eyes wide.]
Woah! That's amazing! [...ADMITTEDLY THAT SPACE-TIME MANIPULATION IS LIKE. GOING OVER HER HEAD. Okay not quite, maybe it's. Like that thing with Corrin's personal castle in the deeprealms or something, but either way, any deeper implications go right over her head because INT is absolutely her dump stat--] I can see where that'd be really, really useful to have, especially going into a place like this. It is a bit of a shame...
no subject
It almost certainly would have been.
[ Though he's not actually sure it would have worked outside of his world even if everyone's shit hadn't gotten nerfed here... and using it much further at this point wouldn't have ended well anyway. But he's not copping to any of that. ]
But it is what it is, I suppose. What were you able to do before?
[ He noticed that "too." ]
no subject
Ice manipulation, primarily! All members of my tribe are able to use it, and it comes as easy to us as breathing! [Felicia beams when she says that, clearly enthusiastic.] Though, I did lose my ability to do healing magic too. I usually need a staff of some kind to use it, but that's not a problem! There's just different ways to heal people here, than there are at home!
no subject
I see.
[ (icy)
Again, he smiles. At least there seems to be less of an implicit threat in it than in the last one. ]
Well. It's for the best that you're learning alternative methods here, then, and good that you seem to have the right attitude about it. A technology-based approach is going to be more reliable than spirit artes -- or magic -- and give you more targeted results anyway.
no subject
Nah, that's just Felicia's imagination. Rideaux isn't a particularly warm person anyway, but the smile must mean everything's okay! So she's content to move on.]
That's something I've learned, yes! While magic is able to mend injuries quite well, it seems that the people here have managed to use technology to be able to treat deeper injuries--ones that magic may not be enough to fix, or might need a more careful touch, like you said!
It has been a lot to get used to, since we don't have...well, any of this technology, where I come from. [Even so, Felicia smiles.] But that is what has made it exciting, too! And it'll only serve us well, going in there.
[Though, she has to admit she's curious...]
The place where you come from...you must be familiar with the stuff that's in use here, but it sounds like you all use a combination of healing...artes, and technology. Is the technology here what you're used to, or has where you come from come up with anything more advanced?
[Felicia's nothing if not curious! ...And also incapable of shutting up.]
no subject
[ Not that he really has a choice!! But healing artes suck anyway so it's fine. ]
The technology here is functionally very similar to what I'm used to, but the foundation it's built on is different. It's interesting that such dissimilar methods converged like this to produce such similar end results, actually, but it also makes it difficult to judge something as more or less advanced.