The Ocularum

[pumpkinhollow]

THE OCULARUM Contact: Neil West Location: West Dream Analytics Overview - This page is intended for RP threads taking place at or in relation to the Ocularum! Additional information regarding the organization and its workings can also be found below. - On the outskirts of Pumpkin Hollow, where the rural Northwest Hollow meets the edges of Lockwood Forest, there is a cottage. A thatched roof with wooden detailing houses a tall brick chimney from which a rich pinewood smoke rises in plumes. Warm and inviting windows glow with lantern light. A red door with a golden knocker is seated below a sign. "WEST DREAM ANALYTICS," it reads. This is both the home and the business of psychic dream therapist Neil West. Indeed, it is also the meeting place of the organization which he founded--- the Ocularum. You must be invited to attend either by another member or by Neil himself, though they don't tend to be picky. Moreso they are cautious. They've been burned before for speaking out against the church's way of doing things. But they are committed to action. The Ocularum believes that they can settle the issue of Pumpkin Hollow's haunting once and for all, and that the Temple of Sacred Roots is doing nothing but hindering progress. But if you earn their trust, they will show you the secrets which they believe are key to finally undoing the curse besetting the island. Membership Initiation | Due to their poor relations with much of the island, the Ocularum is slow in its induction process. Start with a simple orientation and earn the trust of its members over time to learn more. Benefits | Those who work with the Ocularum will find themselves less impacted by the effects of the curse and better prepared for what the island throws at them. This is in part due to Neil's occult expertise and strategies taught by him for dealing with these things, but members also find themselves passively having better luck as well. Drawbacks | Neil's outspoken views against the Temple's methods and ongoing feud with Dahlia Leeds has not made the Ocularum particularly popular. Joining them may occasionally earn you the ire of others. There are also sometimes murmurings about "costs" among the members, implying that there may be some financial expectations. Philosophy The Ocularum believes that the solution to Marrow Isle's problems lies in occult knowledge and direct action. Whether the result of an angry ancient deity, restless spirits, or a leyline of dark energy beneath the land, there is some terrible magic plaguing the island. It can be treated. It can be harnessed. However, the Temple's insistence on waiting around for dead or apathetic goddesses to answer the prayers of the people is putting this on hold. The Historical Society is no better, focusing on reactionary measures gleaned from dusty old books. And the heretics in the forest are respectable folk but are exposing themselves to unnecessary danger. The Ocularum needs bold and dedicated truth seekers who aren't afraid to step into the unknown for the sake of protecting themselves and their neighbors. art credit, code credit

Comments

Demonology Table (Round II) - Early December

[restingslasherface]

Jean has called this meeting of the Ocularum and its allies, asking Doctor West and Princess Zelda to secure the discreet invitations. They've allied themself with these people they don't trust; it's time to make use of it. Specifically, it's time to start breaking down an overall goal into actionable objectives. Mendel dies first. Jean already swore it.

They wait for everyone to filter in that's going to, holding a pointer and standing in front of the chalkboard. As they talk, they will be pointing to things, but Jean is...not the cheerful nugget they usually are. Every motion is layered with volumes of barely-restrained rage.

Are those wolves howling, just outside?

"Thank you all for coming," Jean begins. "This proposal is somewhat far-reaching and diffuse, but I've seen for myself that silver-bullet solutions are, ha ha, ha...ha. Worse than useless. Stupid. It's time for concrete steps that can be tracked. I ask that everyone who chooses to participate both keep their own notes and create a copy to be left with another volunteer; ideally," here they glance at Neil, "we can create a master copy to be filed with Town Hall and the library at such a time that we have information that will benefit the public good. Please let me outline."

The pointer goes to the top:

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
RENDER COMPETITOR INCURSION ("DEMONS") UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO PREY ON MARROW ISLAND

"Grand strategy," Jean murmurs, "is the art of deciding who or what an organization wishes to be, its purpose in the world. Doctor West has declared for the Ocularum that it wishes to be for the good of the community, through the practical application of knowledge. Well. These incursions are shitting on the living room floor. It's time to do some public good."

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
DETERMINE NUMBER AND MOTIVATION OF OTHER COMPETITOR INCURSIONS

"We've had confirmation that the Parade Day massacre was not a demonic attack; its nature is, instead, Abyssal. Doctor West can enlighten us on that matter. If we're to make headway in the curse, we need to know the who, what, and why of who's locked in here with us, and who can breach the barrier."

KNOWN FACTS
- "Dancing Plague" ASSOCIATED WITH HOSTILE MANAGER ASTER
- "Nightmare Carnival" DIRECT INCURSION BY HOSTILE FORCES UNDER COMMAND OF MANAGER MENDEL
- "Parade Day Massacre" COMMITTED BY SMALL FRAGMENT OF GREATER, UNKNOWN BEING ("ABYSSAL")
- ENTITY "Sirens" NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DEMONIC INCURSION
- ENTITY "Brutoks" NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DEMONIC INCURSION

"This then is our jumping-off point," Jean continues. "It's not much to go on. If anyone has more, it's time to be forthcoming with more. In the meantime, I have a list of avenues of investigation that may prove profitable."

MATERIAL MOTIVATIONS OF DEMONIC ENTITIES
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IMMATERIAL/INTANGIBLE MOTIVATIONS OF DEMONIC ENTITIES
- Increase the power of their domain through feeding
- Establish and exert influence over non-demonic entities ("Pacts")
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RESOURCES OF MARROW ISLAND
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POLITICAL STATUS OF INFERNAL REALM
- See minutes of previous meeting
- Why isn't any given demonic leader dead already? What keeps their current stalemate?
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AVAILABLE ALLIES
- TEMPLE OF THE SACRED ROOTS (Existing access to demonic knowledge)
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Jean turns to the room. "I am taking questions. I am taking suggestions. And I am taking volunteers."

OTA! Characters with questions can splinter off this thread!

[itsjustabaddream]

Neil frowns, tapping his pen on the table a few times thoughtfully. He is admittedly not in complete agreement with Jean with regards to methods or understanding of the issue, plus some of their language implies he isn't doing anything. But he's willing to be flexible and understanding. He appreciates their motivation.

"Allow me to flesh out this information a bit more," he says.

"The primary motivation of each demon prince is to prove his mettle to his predecessor, to his father. This is the tradition of Infernal royalty, which takes place once every... few centuries, theoretically? It's believed that the last inheritance took place during the War of Ages back in 11:89, in any case. To be frank, I don't have any meaningful theories about why demons, chaotic as they are, actually go through this process rather than just trying to kill each other. They don't seem the type to stand on tradition. Perhaps there is a ritual element to it, or the rest of the Infernal realm would cast aside a weak king. It's hard to say. But regardless of the reason, Efrain, Mendel, and Aster are competing to show the value of their domain and the breadth of their power by making flamboyant demonstrations of violence and chaos in the hopes that King Eligos will name them heir. And for some reason beyond my comprehension, they have chosen Pumpkin Hollow as their battleground, or at least one of them. Since the ferry arrivals, we have not yet seen a demonstration that I would ascribe to Efrain. We should be wary of this. But I can only assume the stalemate persists because Eligos has yet to make his decision."

"As far as elaborating on the nature of abyssal entities--- They are vast, incomprehensible interplanar cosmic entities of extraordinary power. Typically the affairs of humans and even demons are too small for them to notice, and very rarely is anything they do in our dimension part of any grand scheme. It is possible that the workings of their splinters as we see with the Parade is the result of the random echoes of chaos they cast off as they attend to grander matters, though with all the interplanar travel required for you all to get here... one might postulate that Pumpkin Hollow may be playing host to some sort of portal."

"I strongly doubt we could peacefully acquire the cooperation of the Temple. They much prefer to offer up prayers and lamentations to goddesses who may not even exist. And if they do, they verifiably cannot help us in any lasting or meaningful way. But if they can be persuaded to forsake their passive simpering in favor of actual progress, by all means, I invite any of you to try."

Surprise Motherfucker

[restingslasherface]

"... Doctor West, I have difficulty seeing how the validity of the Temple's beliefs should affect the exchange of knowledge. However."

They take a heavy, golden ring from their pocket, and hold it up for Neil to inspect. Their voice is low; not angry, merely Grave. "Direct contact has been made with the managerial entity identified as Kora. Communication was extremely nonverbal, but straightforward; to the best of my reasonable understanding, I am in her employ as of this time, contingent on continued support and second to my original contract with the white-haired lady."

"Really though, you were the one who told me that the Temple keeps demonic lore."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Is that so?"

Well, color him surprised. While there's no verification that Jean got that directly from Kora, the fact that they're not obviously cursed leads him to at least the conclusion that it isn't cursed. And there aren't many other sources of pirate treasure on this island. There's also no real reason for Jean to lie about this.

"Interesting. Well, if what you say is true, that at least confirms they exist. But it does imply that their abilities are limited, which puts us not terribly far from square one. While it is nice to know that there are divine entities that can offer assistance in small ways, the fact that Kora did not simply wave a hand and release us from the barrier in a shower of deux ex machina indicates that either the goddesses are treating us as playthings or they cannot help us any more than this. At the end of the day, the ownness to fix this still falls to us, rendering the temple's plan of simply praying for the goddesses to save us as fundamentally useless as they were yesterday," Neil replies. "Also, may I remind you that I said they keep some knowledge of demons, primarily as it relates to the goddesses. They probably know about as much as we do. But if you would like to continue thinking of this as some sort of 'gotcha' for me, then by all means."

Neil's patience with Jean is clearly waning.

[restingslasherface]

"I'm not -" Deep breath in. Deep breath out. "My desires for such an alliance are strictly practical - opening or closing avenues of investigation, access to potential resources, and collaborative efforts. Are those not worth pursuing?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"I appreciate your point of view--- to the point where I already tried it years ago. I didn't decide to distance myself lightly. I did make that choice after attempting more ideal solutions first and finding them wanting," Neil explains. "The Temple legitimately doesn't want to do anything besides hunker down, wait it out, and pray. Even knowing that the goddesses do occasionally provide resources, that won't be a sufficient solution."

He lets out a long sigh, pressing his fingers to his temple. "I'm not saying that you can't try if you want to, but I'm not optimistic, and I'm genuinely not too fond of Clayton. I think he has an agenda."

[restingslasherface]

"I should hope so, he's a community leader same as you. Leadership without an agenda would indicate a fatal lack of vision that can't be tolerated." Yeah, we're not done with the comparison-drawing. "I will approach Comrade Degas and make overtures. If he's willing to play ball, are you willing to make apologies or concessions that might be necessary? I don't ask this as an accusation! I just need to know what I can put on the table."

[itsjustabaddream]

Jean knows that's not the agenda Neil means. They're just being difficult with him on purpose, which is something he is thoroughly done entertaining. At first he had been quite fond of Jean's enthusiasm, but he is reaching a point where the only reason he tolerates their disrespect instead of directing them to the door is because it risks damaging his connection to Zelda. He gives them a hard look in lieu of giving them any more ammunition.

"That depends upon Mr. Clayton thinks I need to apologize for or concede to."

[witheredpeonies]

"The goddesses have answered petitions. They do exist. I think it may be worth considering if 'acquiring the cooperation of the Temple' is the same as 'getting the goddesses on side', necessarily."

Annabel Lee is taking notes in a black leather notebook with a chess piece embossed on the front.

"Also, I'd like to point out that Eligos is strengthened by distrust, and what enmity you have for the Temple might be part of that."

[itsjustabaddream]

"Yes, consequently Jean corrected me not too long ago," Neil agrees, though he is curious as to what Annabel Lee's experience with that is. A question for later. "I believe that my point still stands, though in a slightly different way."

"I am willing to admit that it was my mistake to say that the goddesses likely don't exist. My lack of encounters with them apparently has more to do with me than it does with them. However, Jean said their contact with Kora was non-verbal and resulted in a few useful trinkets. If such a dire issue is being met items which assist individual efforts of mortals rather than an actual solution to the problem, then we must assume one of two things: that this is either all that they are able to do, or all that they are willing to do."

"If we assume that this is an issue of will, then we are likely in even more trouble. However, if we give the goddesses the benefit of the doubt that they are doing all that is within their power, then simply praying as the temple wishes to do is still not sufficient. I'd certainly prefer to take this on good faith, but that puts us in a situation where the curse is still our responsibility to break. That's a tricky spot."

[witheredpeonies]

"If they aren't capable of big showy displays of power, the question might be how to manage the limited resource that is divine aid. What do we most need from them, when?"

She's trying to be helpful, with this reframing.

[itsjustabaddream]

"True!" Neil concedes, thinking. "While I think relying on them heavily when it's clear there are such tight limits is a risk not worth taking, having the option in our back pocket has its values. Hope for the best but plan for the worst, yes?"

[witheredpeonies]

"Yes. But if we want them to be a last resort, learning more about them might be worth the effort, perhaps."

She leans forward on a table, looking Neil in the eyes. "I called Mortanne for aid when a temple ritual to banish baneful spirits was affecting me. I felt the effects on me specifically diminish, like...like being rooted in this world a bit more. Like being welcome here."

[itsjustabaddream]

There is a flash of... something, in Neil's expression. Something difficult to define, and gone too quickly to read. Confusion, annoyance, worry? But in the span of a blink, the expression is replaced by one of neutral interest.

"Quite intriguing, indeed! We know at the very least that they have the power to provide small boons and strategically reject their own invocations, then. Annabel Lee, I would very much value your assistance in keeping a finger on the pulse of this particular development, if you would be interested. Let me know if you learn any more about this, yes?"

[tisnotthehouse]

Seated at the far end of the table, Tarantulas is taking copious notes (actually, he may have copied the chalkboard portion of Jean's presentation down verbatim). On a break to shake his hand out, he attracts Neil's attention to ask, "Choosing a successor usually implies the expectation that one will shortly relinquish their place in the existing hierarchy, voluntarily or not. Is that also the case here, or are these demon 'princes' acting under some other motivation?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"That is, in fact, the case. What 'shortly' means for creatures who live for hundreds of years can be difficult to concern, but it is understood that Eligos will step down as king when he choses his successor," Neil replies. "It's unclear how long that will take, as we've clearly already been caught in the crossfire many times."

[tisnotthehouse]

"It's adorable, really, how you think a few hundred years is a long time," Tarantulas mumbles under his breath as he jots down the confirmation.

"Unfortunately for this charming little town, competition and violence usually add up to escalation. What does the historical record have to say about this War of Ages you mentioned? How did the current king win his title?"

[itsjustabaddream]

"Well, considering the lifespan of the average human rarely breaches the first hundred, I would say that's a fair opinion to have, no?" Neil smiles. "In any case, the War of Ages was an event which took place on the Grand Fairisle, the largest landmass in the Emerald Isles and colloquially called the mainland. It took place over the span of two century-long periods called ages, hence the name. It is believed that this comparatively long war is what led Therius, the Prince of Red Fields, to inherit the Throne of Hell. Consequently Eligos usurped him shortly after in a display of his own domain, and here we are now."

[tisnotthehouse]

"Hm!" Tarantulas taps the tip of his pencil against his face for a moment in thought. "So the going theory is that Therius had a hand in instigating or at least prolonging this war? Interesting." The parallels with their present situation are immediately obvious. Perhaps too obvious? He wonders.

But they have more immediate concerns. He slides the copy of the last meeting's minutes over to his side of the table, taking a moment to refresh his memory before asking, "So this...Efrain's turn to display his mettle is coming up next, correct?" His portfolio sounds somewhat...yes, deeply disturbing. Chaos is one thing, but despair targets the mind's very ability to cope. Tarantulas agrees; they should be wary of this being.

[tisnotthehouse]

The cross-talk between their presenter and Dr. West is probably some flavor of important, although there's a lot of context there that Tarantulas knows he's missing -- or at least, he assumes Neil isn't the kind of person who just says random words at people for fun. But Tarantulas's own thoughts are important too! Which is why the first time there's a lull in the discussion, he attracts Jean's attention to ask, "For the record, has anyone already tried making a really large gun and shooting the demons? I find kinetic energy to be a wonderful equalizer."

[restingslasherface]

"Who uses guns -" Jean pauses. Closes their eyes. Remembers they're the only one on the island who can parry bullets. "I believe that would have been tried already, yes!" they answer instead, trying to remain on target here. "Comrade...?"

[tisnotthehouse]

Who uses...what? Guns? Who doesn't use guns, if they have them? Tarantulas stares at Jean, bemused, but only remarks, "Well, perhaps the guns they have here simply aren't strong enough," and makes a little note to himself in his journal. It looks like a doodle of a firing pin. This means nothing.

"And it's Tarantulas. Just Tarantulas is fine, there's no need to be so formal."

[restingslasherface]

"I am not always good at picking up local signals of gender, but thankfully Comrade Cecil provided me with an appropriate term!" Look at them Tarantulas. Look at this nugget. They're so proud. "I am quite interested in potentially killing the demon princes, but for all that I want them dead I do have some concerns that, even in the scenario where we somehow slay all of them including the current monarch, the system that emplaced them will be enduring enough that we simply have new problems rather than any solutions or relief..."

[tisnotthehouse]

Oh, is that the issue. "Insofar as I have a gender corresponding to human norms, it's male," Tarantulas advises them graciously. "But you needn't worry yourself about it; I certainly don't."

He hums thoughtfully, taking Jean's point. "It's certainly possible that, in the future, new enemies might arise from the demon's ranks. But in the present day, there are four clearly identifiable invaders who seem to represent the strongest capabilities of their society. It may be that removing them will discourage their successors from further attempts at troubling this segment of reality -- but even if it should prove otherwise, demonstrating the possibility of slaying one group of demons, and teaching the locals how to imitate the requisite technology, should prove all they need to handle future invasions." He smiles slightly. "It's a line of research I find worth pursuing, anyway."

To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. To the man who makes the hammers, every problem looks like an opportunity to build larger, more explosive hammers. It is the way of the universe.

Damn OCs And Their One Liners

[restingslasherface]

"How do you prevent an arms race in the aftermath, with the culture infernal, now aware of our weapons, developing their own?"