shellphones | Seeking Interested Parties

Entry tags:

Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

Type: Video
Sender ID: forgeabettertomorrow | (Darin Altway)
To: Public
Subject: Darin and Zelda have an IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT to make
Warnings: N/A

[As the video blips on, Darin walks onto screen from the left. He looks…anxious? Excited? Definitely more energized than usual. He leans forward, the top of the frame cutting off his head so you have a close-up of his torso and not much else.]

Did I do this thing right, Sunshine? I kinda wanna frame this up right.

[ The video feed wobbles a little, the camera going out of focus. Zelda's voice is audible from somewhere off screen. ]

Almost! Don't forget to activate this setting here.

[ The video feed wobbles again, the camera coming back into focus. ]

Alright. Alright, let’s do this.

…Oh holy crap, we’re already recording.

[Darin immediately stiffens as he realizes that he is, in fact, broadcasting.]

Damn piece of— whatever, just go. Okay! Hey everyone! So, I wanted to put this out there publicly because…Zelda and I have some exciting news.

[Darin takes a step back and reaches towards Zelda to take her hand with a wide, excited grin on his face.]

So…I’ve been working on a…on a project. An experiment, really. About the rifts that brought us all here.

[If you were waiting with bated breath for a certain matrimonial announcement, sorry, this isn’t gonna be that. It’s gonna be BETTER. It’s gonna be about SCIENCE.]

I…I’ve made no real secret of the fact that I want to figure the rifts out for…obvious, personal reasons. So, over the last couple of months, I designed something.

[Darin reaches off screen and returns holding what looks like a wireframe cube with a spherical chamber suspended in the center by eight converging rods anchored to the cube’s points.]

This. I call it the Beacon Box. I figured that the Rifts were too…potentially volatile to be controlled but hey, like any other force of nature, you don’t try and tame it, right? You learn to navigate it. I won’t…bore you with the science of it but the short version is I imbued it with an essence of me and my world with the help of the Leviathans and had it cast into the rift. I wasn’t expecting much but…

[Darin excitedly looks at Zelda.]

But we got some data. Zelda got some readings that we’re still parsing but…well, I’ll let her tell you.

[ Zelda, grinning just as excitedly as Darin, gives a little wave to the camera with one hand. In the other, she's holding the Purah Pad. ]

It took a little bit of doing, but I was able to program the Purah Pad to receive periodic transmissions from the Beacon Box while it traversed the Rifts. I believe a number of us have conducted research on the Rifts before, myself included, and a prevailing theory I came across was that the Rifts are related to the Leviathans-- possibly even created by them. So I expected that the energy signature of the Rifts would resemble that of the Leviathans.

[ And here, her grin gets wider. She looks like she's almost vibrating as she clutches the Purah Pad with both hands. ]

But that is not the case at all! Now, these remain preliminary readings, but the energy signature detected from the Rifts differs significantly from that of the Leviathans. Nor do they match any other signatures I've recorded in this world. The Rifts are far, far more powerful.

But that's not all! We recorded a few sudden influxes of energy-- "spikes," if you will-- the timing of which seem to align with the arrival of a few new riftfarers. I believe these spikes are indicative of people-- or even objects-- passing through the rifts. I posit that the same spikes occur with departures as well, although these are rather more difficult to verify.

Now, I've been examining the data produced by these spikes to see if I can't find any patterns or measurable specificity-- things which might help us determine when a passage through the Rifts will occur, or if any of these readings might indicate the world to which they are connecting-- a "world signature." As of now, I've not found any, but employing additional Beacon Boxes will expand the data pool significantly and allow for a much more thorough study of it.

[Darin chimes in now, tossing the Beacon Box back and forth in his hands like a kid waiting his turn to give a presentation.]

I know…it doesn’t sound like much. But it’s a start and this is where I want some help. Creating a Beacon Box requires…well…it requires you to give up something of deep, personal value. Something that can tether you to your world and can, in turn, call out to it. But…if I’m right?

If I’m right, people we’ve lost might be able to find their way back. And the people who want to go home? They might be able to do just that. But like Zelda said, we need more data. If you want to be a part of the project, please reach out to me or Zelda. I’ll be offering the construction of these boxes for free for anyone interested and if there’s anyone out there with even a passing interest in…dimensional space and time rifts? I’d love to work with you.

[At this point, Darin turns to Zelda, grinning from ear to ear. Unable to contain his excitement anymore, he sweeps her up into a giant bear hug, twirling her off screen to cries of “I did it!”]

(OOC NOTE: This is the start of the EXTREMELY LONG RUNNING BEACON BOX PLOT. ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE. I'll draft up an OOC write-up later but the short version is that Darin is looking for ways to navigate the rifts. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me here, hit me up at Bitterbearface n Discord, or ping me on plurk at bitterbearface For the purposes of this post, please place in the subject line if you'd like to speak with DARIN or ZELDA specifically. If you have no preference, leave it blank!)

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[Darin's silent. But not because Zelda's outburst catches him off guard. It's because he's weighing how much he should tell her.]

[He's sure Cid, Benedikta, and the rest of the Dominants won't want this getting out, but if Zelda were to truly understand the problem, she needs to be apprised of the stakes.]

...I don't know if you know this, Zelda...and if you didn't, please keep it to yourself.

The price that Cid, Benedikta, Jill, Clive, and Joshua all have to bear for using their power kills them slowly. I don't know the specifics but...if they go back to their world? It's likely a death sentence.

[Darin turns to Zelda, his countenance grim.]

Benedikta's terrified and I don't blame her. Keeping the rifts open and exploring them? That's co-signing their death certificate. Tonight was a warning and an ultimatum.

Either I shut down the project or she'll take action.

[ Zelda nods silently in acknowledgment of Darin's words, looking ashamed. No, she didn't know that the Dominants pay the price of their powers with their own lives. That must not be the case here in this world (perhaps because of how this world suppresses one's own magics?), else they would not be so intent to stay. Her lips tighten into a thin line. Now she feels guilty for her enthusiasm for the Beacon Boxes. This project risks their very lives.

Hands returning to clutch over her chest, Zelda walks further into the room so she can stand near Darin. Worry grips her heart like a vice, but now the reason is difference. ]

What are we to do? We- We cannot give up on our research...

[ To do so means giving up on the future they're fighting for. But now the risks... ]

[Darin's stern countenance begins to melt away. First, into a warm smile, then bursting into his trademark, confident grin.]

We're not going to.

[He shovels the last bit of food into his mouth and deposits the plate back on the table. With a flourish, he pulls his coat off and slings it over the couch with the same sort of gusto and intent one might have when rolling up their sleeves.]

I refuse to accept that there's only two options. There there's no way for everyone to come out of this what they want. I'm not so naive as to believe I can always make everyone happy...

But what kind of guy would I be if I didn't at least try?

[Darin turns to his board again and begins to make some new notes.]

There's a third option. Make it so the rifts can't affect the Dominants. Either make them invisible to the energy that the rifts emit or find a way to anchor their unique signatures here. The best part?

[He looks over his shoulder.]

There's precedent.

[His grin widens at the expected curious look Zelda is no doubt giving him.]

Whenever you fall into your sleeps, you're unaffected by anything. That weird bubble? You're rooted here! To you, it only seemed like a deep sleep, right? You never felt time passing?

If time doesn't affect you, why would the rifts be able to?

[ Zelda's expressions reflect her thoughts as she listens. Find a way to keep the rifts from effecting the Dominants? That's a really good idea, actually... Both of his ideas for how to do that seem promising too-- especially when he brings up the month-long sleeps the princess sometimes falls into.

Her eyes widen in amazement, brows rising. Her sleep comas... ]

You're right... When I fall into slumber like that, it seems that nothing is able to effect me. I don't need to eat or drink. I don't get bedsore. My muscles don't atrophy with disuse. And when I wake up, I always feel like I've only slept a single night. It's almost as though... time slows while inside the bubble.

[ Zelda comes to Darin's side and looks up at him, eyes shining with intrigue as his words take root in her mind. ]

If the bubble is formed through this world's magics, then it stands to reason that the bubble carries the same signature as this world. The rifts don't effect it because they only act on signatures foreign to this world.

[Darin snaps and points at her emphatically.]

Exactly. In other words?

If we're going to anchor the Dominants, we need something native to this world. Something powerful enough that it can shield them from the rifts and their influence.

We've been focusing so much on the magic and the Leviathans that we haven't really paid much attention to another card in play. One that we haven't really had much time to explore.

[He doesn't say the answer. He knows that Zelda knows what it is.]

[ Zelda, in fact, does not know what this is, and the churning gears behind her eyes come to an abrupt halt, as if someone just stuck an iron rod between their teeth.

'Another card in play?' Something besides the Leviathans and this world's magic? Her brows pinch together as she flips through her mental rolodex of information on this world. Something native to this world, powerful enough to shield the Dominants from the influence of the rifts. ]

Are you referring to the armadas' brands?

[ She sounds dubious, looking to Darin for confirmation that she's following his train of thought. ]

Although, I suppose, technically, those would fall under the definition of 'magic.' And they were less 'shields' and more 'suppressants.' But perhaps they could be reverse-engineered to suppress the world-signatures of the Dominants.

[ Not that anyone has the slightest idea how to control the brands... If the armadas were to reactivate the brands, the riftfarers would be little better equipped to deal with them now than they were last year. ]

[Darin freezes in place, still pointing at Zelda as she gives a most unexpected answer.]

[...The brands?]

[...The brands!]

[He grips her shoulders and gives her an excited little shake.]

Zelda! That's genius! If the brands could mark us with our identifying Armada, what if they could be use to mark someone as 'native' to this world?!

I was going to suggest the relics but...but what if we used both?!

Follow my thinking here: The brands needed a set value— in this case, the faction, to tie an individual to.

[Hastily, he turns to the board and pulls down a half-filled sheet of paper and begins scribbling.]

What if we could make a brand with the set value of Escordvi. We would just need something strong enough...maybe we could research the relics? Find their origins in this world and sync it to that?

[He stops and then turns to her, his eyes wide as another realization dawns on him.]

...If we could do that, maybe we could us that as a basis to return here too. Like a passport.

[ The way Darin simply stares, pointing at her, tells Zelda that she didn't guess his card correctly. But before she can take another guess, a bolt of inspiration suddenly strikes him. In an instant, he's back at the board, scribbling down notes as he speaks. Zelda leans in to peer at his notes while she listens. ]

Relics? [ Her expression pinches in confusion. ] Why relics? Not to suggest that we shouldn't research them, but if we need to establish a set value of 'Escordvi,' why utilize the relics? Why not one of the Leviathans? Or could we not simply 'sync' to the world itself?

[ She feels like she's missed something here. The armadas are a faction, something incorporeal, but something to which people are classified as 'members.' By that logic, non-riftfarers could be considered 'members' of this world, while riftfarers are 'members' of their own worlds. Would that work?

Zelda purses her lips. ] We still know very little about how the brands work. We will need to research them as well if we are to use them as a template.

Because I don't like the idea of tethering our friends to living things that can have a change of heart. Let's not forget when Elah decided to just go off on their own without the entire island for a little while.

[He snorts a half-laugh as he makes more notes.]

I'm focusing on the relics because, if there's one thing I've learned about magic, it's that it's malleable. And like any good workable metal, it can potentially be shaped or altered to suit our needs with a little tempering.

[Darin turns his head and gives Zelda a wink.]

Easier to tailor a component of the world rather than the world itself. Narrow the scope to the few over the many in this case. Right?

The brands offer a perfect tool for that. That was the missing piece for where to start! You're incredible, Sunshine!

[ Ah, right, the Leviathans can be unpredictable at times. Utilizing them as a sort of 'anchor-point' could end up backfiring.

The relics, though. Darin's logic is sound, and the more he discusses the potential for using the relics, the more Zelda agrees with the merits. Although she feels like she knows little and less about this world's relics than she does the brands, she trusts Darin's judgment on the matter.

His judgment... Not so long ago, Zelda saw Darin as rash and impulsive. He had a tendency to act before thinking things through, to be careless of risks, and unconcerned with any threat of injury to himself. Even the possibility of his own death did not give him pause-- in fact, Darin all but invited death, aiming to give up his life protecting others or defending a just cause. Several times, Zelda intervened on these 'noble sacrifices' and saved his life. Several times, Darin's disregard for his own life made her break down in tears.

But now... Nowadays, Zelda hardly recognizes him as the man who tried to throw his life away fighting Ganondorf. That man truly believed that the best thing he could do with his life was die saving the princess. The man who stood beside her today and shared his invention for all to see is someone else entirely. Someone eager to engage with people, to answer their questions and assuage their fears-- even in the face of violence. Someone unafraid to step into the spotlight. Someone unafraid to lead.

About half of what Darin is saying has gone completely unheard by Zelda. He might notice that she's no longer looking at the board, but directly at him, silently listening and smiling up at him. The sparkle of intrigue has faded from her eyes and her expression is more warm and fond now than curious and excited. ]

I think we have a very promising avenue to pursue for helping the Dominants remain here in this world.

But the hour is late and you, frankly, look terrible. [ Zelda laughs softly. ] I'm going to draw a warm bath for you so that you can relax and wash up, and then we are going to go to bed. It has been a long day and you are sorely in need of rest.

[Darin continues his plotting and assessments, oblivious to the eyes that Zelda is making his way. He's completely in his element: helping people. Listening to them. Engaging with them. Being a part of a community, of something larger than himself has always been Darin's goal. He's always wanted a place.]

[And now, unknowingly, he's stepped into one by Zelda's side. What that means for either of them remains to be seen but the picture is slowly coming into focus.]

[He blinks as his mind seems to catch up with what Zelda is saying.]

O-Oh...yeah, I guess it's been a longer day than usual.

How about I just take care of my dish?

[He moves to pick up his dish and to head into the kitchen. But Zelda should know by now that Darin will not only take this time to clean the kitchen, but the time afforded by doing such a mundane task will allow his mind to conjure new ideas and he'll rush back to the board again once he's done.]

[ Zelda swiftly picks up the empty plate before Darin can get his hands on it. She knows how this goes. Inspiration will undoubtedly strike him while he's in the kitchen and he'll be back at the board in no time. ]

Cleaning is not resting, Darin.

[ There's a playfulness in her chiding as she holds the plate out of his reach. She places her free hand on Darin's back and pushes him in the direction of the stairs. ]

Go on~ Sort out your clothing into what's salvageable and what isn't, and I'll be along shortly.

[Darin makes a swipe for the plate but Zelda dances out of his way and is at his back before he realizes it. What is this? What's going on? Since when did Zelda known when to stop working? Why is this sudden shift in dynamics got him so flustered??]

B...But I...the kitchen...!

A-And I left my coat on the couch...

[He turns but finds himself so easily herded towards the stairs, he's completely off-kilter. But it's the knowing smile playing on Zelda's lips that really makes it impossible to offer any resistance.]

[He gets to the foot of the stairs and with a bemused, resigned smile and playfully defeated huff, he acquiesces.]

Yes, dear...

['Dear????']

[His face turns several dramatic shades of scarlet as he realizes what just slipped out of his mouth.]

D-D— !

I-I mean...!

D-Dear...Dear me! L-Look at the time!! Y-You're right, Sunshine, it's been a hell of a day! I-I'll go get ready s-so...don't take too long...!

[He trips and falls up about five stairs before his heavy boots thunk onto the wood. A moment later, she'll hear his footfalls upstairs.]

['Dear?!?!']

[ 'D- Dear??'

Zelda's eyes grow wide at the same time that Darin turns scarlet, but he doesn't even give her the chance to say anything before sputtering excuses and tripping his way up the stairs. She's left staring at the space he vacated, that single word bouncing around in her brain.

Wh- What's come over him, calling her 'dear' like that? It's as though he's acquiescing a wife's demands! Sh- She isn't his wife!

Zelda feels her cheeks heating up and she hurries into the kitchen. Now she's the one getting flustered, clattering about to clean the dishes and straighten everything for tomorrow. Darin called her 'dear.' Surely.. surely that doesn't mean anything. It's a slip of the tongue. It doesn't mean that he's started seeing her as a wife.

Her stomach fills with butterflies at the errant thought. Really, she... wouldn't hate it if he did. Their life together kind of... feels that way sometimes. Zelda knows she needs to return to Hyrule one day and resume her reign, but for the moment, she's enjoying the domestic simplicity of sharing a home with Darin.

By the time the kitchen is all cleaned up, Zelda is smiling again, the word still playing on repeat in her mind. The excitement of the day, the stress of the evening, it's all faded. All she's thinking about is how flustered Darin was when that word slipped out of his mouth. How much more embarrassed would he be if she was to call him 'dear'? Zelda collects his coat from the sofa and heads up the stairs, thinking of the perfect way to fluster her dear boyfriend. ]

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Seeking Interested Parties | VIDEO

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