𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚝𝚟 is a literate / skeleton / tumblr - based roleplay set in the world of papergames's love and deepspace. fourteen years ago, the hunters association was created to strike down spacetime monsters called wanderers wherever they appear. the unicorns sector is the most powerful of the lot — but none are greater than the ten agents in teams alpha and bravo, and none are more unsung than their five handlers, team delta. as the wanderers get stronger and bolder, and as more red tape restricts the association's actions, these fifteen operatives may be humanity's last hope before the deepspace tunnel finishes what it started.
𝚗𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ⸻ full.
hunter's code.
unicorns roster.
deepspace times.
life at linkon.
currently attending : the fundraiser ( money talks ) .
currently seeking : a03. a04 . b03 . d03 .
𝚊𝚍𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜 : active . absent . present .
𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 : 11 of 15 taken . 00 res . 00 app .
⋆.˚𖦹⋆✮⋆.˚ the following muses have not met sufficient activity for this week . please post at least one 250+ word thread / open starter or 300+ word headcanon / self-para or three answers to the lunar new year ask meme within 24 hours . please contact the main for an extension or hiatus notice . if the activity requirement is not met by 6 : 00 p.m. on sunday , february 22 , these muses and faceclaims will be re - opened :
@vectorfault ( nam seonyul / a03 , played by jung sungchan of riize )
@damvcles ( li ruo shui / b01 , played by actor ju jingyi )
@stellarfate ( im soohyuk / a02 , played by actor lee dohyun )
⋆.˚𖦹⋆✮⋆.˚ hiatus :
@inawildflower ( choi yeonghwan / b04 , played by actor park solomon ) ⸻ until march 5
@badbadn0good ( jin yuri / d02 , played by actor lee jaewook ) ⸻ until march 1
⋆.˚𖦹⋆✮⋆.˚ # 942 , we have changed our remaining skeletons to be femme-locked so as to balance our current gender ratios . if you would still like to reserve b03 , please let us know what faceclaim you would like to use . thank you !
⋆.˚𖦹⋆✮⋆.˚ happy lunar new year , hunters ! reblog this post if you'd like to participate in this ask meme to ring in the year of the horse . these questions address your muses' personality or their histories as unicorns agents ; no need to run any minor missions by the main , but if you'd like more clarity on anything please don't hesitate to ask !
please make sure your ask box is enabled if you haven't already done so . participation is optional , but answering 3 prompts will count as meeting activity for this week . while you may choose to do so on or off anon , please also be sure to send some questions to everyone who is participating !
⋆˚࿔ HORSE
do you consider yourself impulsive , or are you more of a planner ?
how important is independence in your life ?
when is the last time you've run from a challenge ?
⋆˚࿔ GOAT
who's your closest teammate ?
if you could switch to another team , which would it be ?
what advice would you give your younger self ?
⋆˚࿔ MONKEY
how good are you at multi-tasking ?
would you rather have a silver tongue or a silver spoon ?
have you ever fallen for a scam ?
⋆˚࿔ ROOSTER
what was something you realized about yourself last year ?
how many backup plans do you have at any given time ?
are you more loyal to people or ideas ?
⋆˚࿔ DOG
are you looking for a promotion this year ?
what's your most desirable trait in a partner or collaborator ?
how often do you revisit paused plans ?
⋆˚࿔ PIG
how do you deal with frustration ?
what does trust look like to you ?
do you pressure yourself or do others pressure you more ?
⋆˚࿔ RAT
is financial or emotional stability more important to you ?
do you like your super hunters character ?
who is your least favorite teammate ?
⋆˚࿔ OX
have you ever been seriously injured during a mission ?
do wanderers frighten you ?
what is one skill you hope to improve on this year ?
⋆˚࿔ TIGER
do you work all the way through a long task without stopping , or do you take breaks ?
what is one relationship you hope to improve this year ?
how would you quantify your work/life balance in percentages ? ( i.e. 70/30 , 50/50 )
⋆˚࿔ RABBIT
how would you describe your aesthetic sense ?
do you consider yourself cultured ?
how independent are you in your work ?
⋆˚࿔ DRAGON
would you rather life be easy , or would you seek out challenges ?
are you a fan of large gestures ?
do you fall asleep to silence or background noise ?
⋆˚࿔ SNAKE
do you compare yourself to others often ?
what is your greatest strength ?
( for alpha / beta ) are you looking to move up the leaderboard this year ? ( for delta ) who do you think will top the leaderboard this year ?
hey, admins! will there be an activity check this saturday?
⋆.˚𖦹⋆✮⋆.˚ yes ! members will be expected to post at least one thread by 17 : 59 on saturday the 21st , or to complete 3 prompts of our upcoming ask meme , to meet activity .
it’d been as easy as breathing, to notice the several months everyone else had spent with one another long before his arrival; to feel like a jagged piece not meant for the puzzle that'd be unicorns. truthfully, past his affiliation, there are personal reasons for iseul’s distanced nature; an overbearing reluctance to involve oneself; almost—always being a ghost, lingering quietly, closely but never close enough.
it is the captain that often takes it upon himself to make iseul’s shadow visible amongst the lot, to his own dismay. iseul doesn’t believe delta’s captain to be some hero, even when he wears exhaustion like a second skin. but as the only person that iseul finds himself speaking to beyond a couple of words & the only person who holds faith in what he could be, there is some form of respect held there for the captain. but alas, the dent in his reverence would be caused by the way he's handled the youngest ⸻ reminiscent of a fragile object, that needs a so—called … performance improvement plan.
after the events of operation pandia, no—one is who they were. comparably, a crack formed somewhere in team delta. as if the fragments couldn’t be seen by anyone except iseul. perhaps it is because he’s been observing everyone & everything long enough to notice the tiniest shifts, or perhaps it is the vice—captain that gives it away. the thought of him leaves a bitter taste on iseul’s tongue, per se ⸻ with questions that go unsaid & answers that will never be given. slow—blooming abhorrence is kept dormant beneath rib—cage, as surviving a catastrophe alone is punishment enough.
everyone can see that teamwork is a hand—me—down attribute from his twin brother, which is a few sizes too big on hwa iseul. much unlike hwa jiwon, and his ease of making the spotlight shine on him no matter the time and place ⸻ iseul doesn't fit into team delta. rather, he sticks out like a sore thumb; his presence being similar to that of a dissonant, wrong note played on the piano.
and frankly, iseul knows it too. but, does it matter? when none of team delta are far from what he is himself.
Zhang Daiyu sees her evol as a double edged sword.
According to her elementary teacher, she was never going to surmount to anything worthy. Her parents' expectations were stuck on the bottom of the barrel, sharp-edged scraps left by her two older brothers whose ambitions were tall enough to cast a shadow on her own. The tag of 'last place' hung neatly on her shirt, right on top of her heart as if that's the most depth she was allowed to indulge in.
Daiyu knew the Zhang dynasty could never let a bastard child thrive. It would undermine the hierarchy they painstakingly laid for generations to follow. A testament to a frantic desperation that helped them escape the clutches of poverty and reinvent themselves as pioneers of transportation engineering. Quiet mutters gained force once their engines reached well known aviation and ship makers.
Everyone in her family attributed their newly found wealth to a mantra, passed down like a filthy heirloom with stubborn lip stains, that states 'those who have merit are the only ones worthy of hunger'. Hunger is a luxury reserved for those who can afford to live the Zhang reality, where nothing is impossible if you can pay the steep price. Everything else had to bear the weight of their command.
Daiyu could never pay it, her frail shoulders were only capable of carrying baby wings. But, a single flap cascaded into an unstoppable sequence. The winds of fate stitched themselves into the fabric of reality when she was 6.
It was a private after school lesson. Sunlight slanted across the mahogany desk as her teacher tried to drill through her scattered thoughts about the dangers of a 50% mark. Restless fingers tapped against the thin off-white paper, a soundless prayer stuck on the roof of her mouth. Before Daiyu could utter a defeated compliance, her gaze settled on something new. Under the growing rambunctious rant, she watched the bright red 50% blink itself into a 100%. A shift in pressure cracked through the atmosphere as a surge of satisfaction licked the constantly open wound of her pride. Watching the color drain off her teacher, it dawned to her.
Nobody ever questioned their senses.
Her power, as she will later learn to call evol, can change everything about her circumstances. It can feed her hunger after years of fighting for survival. Open the door to a new reality where not being a Zhang doesn't matter as much.
Small actions started to pile up before rolling into a snow bale. Daiyu's principle with her power was fairly simple: Never go too far. After years of being an spectator, she began to analyze beyond what surfaced. It wasn't long until she cheated those from her opulent surroundings. Her powers only served to strengthen a fear narrative the people in her life already buried in themselves. Sudden floods of gossip about unfounded betrayals and broken relationships occupied the space of the young elite. Name and prestige were thrown and forgotten.
It never mattered to her, especially when her bullies gained new faces at her presence. After all, absence will crave for something in its wake. Preferably, something that will benefit her.
The pretense collided on itself when Daiyu got too involved with one of her younger nieces. One of the few who managed to knock at her heart, begging entry with a sweetness she wasn't able to fully reject.
It was supposed to be a simple operation— whistleblowing. The evening hummed with a tune that Daiyu should have interpreted as a warning instead of a greeting. One wrong turn and her home security was rushing to her room. Even when she had snuffed out the evidence, the mention of her evol tightened the cuffs on her wrists. Because who could believe in someone with a history of manipulating the truth with their mind alone? Someone whose trustworthiness lives with a borrowed breath?
What a damning thing her evol is.
Daiyu connected the dots about how her backstab signified the death of a rebellion. Consequently, her death in their society.
Community service dubbed as "philanthropic volunteering" in her record led her to meet a fairly low grade Unicorns recruiter. At first, she thought the organization's entire vision and pursuit was ridiculous especially when her life was laid out to the whims of the unpredictable. Daiyu never once thought about the greater public's safety. All of her previous pursuits were done with her at the center of it all. Most of her methods leaned into barely justified cruelty as her nails dug into the psychology where the menagerie of fear and anxiety shriek. Where would she fit in this hero scheme?
Results, she would as the Unicorns recruiter reminded her how there was no place for those who hit rock bottom with no safety net to pull themselves up. The crux: Stray dogs were the most desperate to survive even if it means taking the load most would avoid. That's the one reality she can't bend, no matter how many illusions she conjures.
Daiyu thought about his crooked confident smile. She realized the fragility of her situation as she clutched onto her evol as the only way to keep surviving.
The evol that let her be who she wanted and condemned her with the same breath.
With the right cards under her sleeve, Daiyu believes her evol will be one of the many keys that will afford her another escape route. Preferably one where an organization won't view her as a locked in tool.
ah, team alpha. nabi barely knew where to begin. she had traded plenty of snark with their rival before, but honestly, she wished she were in team beta. they were, air quotes, less problematic.
take her dear captain. his relationship with a subordinate turned the whole team upside down. meetings grew tense, and no one knew where they stood anymore. what bothered nabi most was how he handled it. instead of taking responsibility, he tried to protect himself. promoting the lieutenant wasn’t about being fair but about saving face. he obviously cared more about his 'image' than his team.
then there was the so-called nepo baby. they insisted they weren’t close to charlie’s vice-captain despite the blood tie, but the rumours stuck anyway. nabi wasn’t innocent there. she had helped spread the gossip out of jealousy and frustration. so when that promotion was taken away, she felt a quiet, guilty sense of relief. it wasn’t right, she knew that, but part of her couldn’t help it.
and finally, the snitch-turned lieutenant. if she was honest, nabi would rather have her old teammate back and be the awkward third wheel to the couple than work with a snitch with anger issues. at least before, the drama stayed private.
with all that tension simmering between her teammates, nabi made a habit of being the first to leave meetings. she had no desire to get pulled into arguments or to sit frozen in the thick, uncomfortable silence that always followed. thank whatever higher power was listening that the vice-captain was the only sane one keeping her steady. without them, nabi would have asked for a transfer out of unicorns without a second thought.
tag : #deepspace:mt ( #deepspace:open for open starters ! )
the candlelight vigils in azure square , where masses huddled together and sniffled in unison , were for the public . this event is for a select few — the movers and shakers of linkon city , people whose pockets run deeper than the deepspace tunnel and who are not afraid to spread their wealth around . the hunters association is an organization of heroes , and unicorns symbolize the virtues of purity and grace , but pretty words won't kill a wanderer . and neither will guns five years out of date , or flux stabilizers with faulty parts . the association needs funding , ever needs to save face . the surviving hunters of unicorns are expected to make the rounds for sympathy points — and leadership is especially pressured to do their fair share of schmoozing . “ this whole thing is crass , ” linkon's mayor succinctly mutters , unaware her mic is still hot , and any objective observer might be compelled to agree . but some things just need doing .
✷ happy opening and welcome to our first event ! it will run for 4 weeks , with a plot drop in the middle somewhere between 02.27 - 03.06 .
✷ on exactly the one-month anniversary of operation pandia , the municipal government and ever group have organized an art auction fundraiser both for the families of teams charlie and echo , as well as the hunters association as a whole . contributions have poured in from renowned artists all across the world , including linkon's own maestro of mo art studio . attendees of the event range from city officials to wealthy socialites , and ever's reclusive chairman has sent his granddaughter wang yitong to oil the machine . attendance is mandatory for all remaining unicorns agents to open more sentimental pockets and prove that the hunters have not lost their bite .
✷ the schedule for the event is as follows:
17 : 00 — guests begin arriving
18 : 00 — early bidding begins
18 : 30 — the captains of unicorns ( or vice-captain , for alpha ) give speeches about the squadron and eulogize their fallen comrades .
20 : 00 — rooftop viewing of the drone lights piece
21 : 30 — final winners of each art piece are announced
22 : 00 — event ends , all guests required to vacate the premises
✷ during the auction , the following events occur :
19 : 37 — agent i gets into a bidding war with the director of akso hospital .
19 : 58 — agent ii jung haejin overhears a terse , whispered conversation between the mayor and wang yitong .
20 : 26 — after the drone show finishes , wang yitong pulls agent iii li ruo shui aside and says ever would like their assistance in testing a new line of evol weapons .
21 : 45 — the director of unicorns rewards agents iv jin yuri , v shim eunho , and vi han haena for getting the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd highest donations of the night , respectively .
✷ these roles can be applied for here and will be assigned first-come , first serve .
✷ some suggestions for thread settings can be the gallery floor , the open bar , the rooftop garden , the ( smokers' ) stairwell , and the sculpture rotunda . also , feel free to come up with pieces of art to bid on ! the majority of pieces should focus on the fallen unicorns teams , but other famous contemporary artists' regular works were also accepted .
✷ please do not hesitate to ask us any questions you may have . once again , we cannot state enough how grateful and excited we are to have this amazing batch of writers working together to bring our story to life . happy writing , and happy hunting !
nam seonyul no longer treats a team as something fragile.
not because he'd grown cynical, but because he's seen how easily care translates into hesitation. he's seen what happens when concern slows a decision by half a second, how sentiment makes someone double-check a call that should've been instinct.
it doesn't look like weakness, but it is. emotion has a way of slipping into places responsibility is supposed to sit, and in his world, that kind of weight creates a drag he can't afford.
what he learned was that admiration is how flaws, however detrimental they become, go unchallenged. respect shouldn't exempt anyone from scrutiny — not a senior, and most certainly not a captain. when a line is crossed, it needs to be named. people will disappoint you eventually: not always out of malice, and not always in ways that are obvious, but enough to remind you that institutions can't rely on individual virtue. what matters is that the structure holds, so things can keep moving.
he knows they don't see him the same way now. a new title shifts authority on paper, but perception lags behind structure. none of it matters to him: he was capable before the vacancy opened, and he would have remained capable without it. right place, right time, with the right skills to hold what he stepped into. the disclosure was only a catalyst, and a means of upholding what the hunter's code requires.
teams don't move because they're comfortable. they move because someone is willing to notice where standards are beginning to crack, and say it aloud before it becomes something much worse.
seonyul doesn't need to be liked for that. he only needs the call to stand.
the gloves were tight the first time he’d tried them on. nearly too tight, as it pressed against his skin. anxiety clawed his overtaxed nervous system but there were only the faintest impressions on them; worn hands and a voice plagued by presbyphonia. an afterimage that would have been gone in days if not hours.
fourteen and sallow under the cold lights of a long-forgotten tailor shop, he made a fist tried not to wince as the black leather creaked in response. “they’ll be softer in a few weeks,” the clerk reminded him and he nodded. it would have to do then. “i’ll take them.”
around them the faintest traces of metaflux gleamed and he tried, for once, not to look.
over a decade later, the gloves that sat on his hands were not the same ones but black they were still. forever black.
“like your heart,” his sister still teased each time he bought another set in the same color.
“like my heart,” he’d answer in jest and admire the way the kaleidoscope of metaflux curled in waves around her, pulsing violet, pearl, navy, teal. a comfort against the riot of colors vying for his attention.
they do not creak, now, inlaid with sensors and the finest technology the ever group has to offer. warm and supple as he rests a hand on one of his squadron member’s shoulders in comfort, as he pulls a civilian from danger, as he grips his own watch to rasp, “the protofield’s stellactrum is violet. proceed with caution.”
black gloves that were removed for a routine investigation two weeks ago; shoved into a back pocket and useless when he pushed an operative out of the way of a turning vehicle neither of them could see until seconds after the action.
for thirty years jung haejin has had his evol pressing against all five of his senses; it was no wonder a sixth formed in the process.
