festivals and mur--ahem, investigations 🎊🔍

[beleos]

COMMUNION WITH YIMA

After given some time for recovery and for Yima to hear reports of what transpired at the Tree of Life last month, a Communion message gently flows through the minds of each Shard-Bearer. They will have to choose to accept this message, and once they do, they will be greeted by Yima’s voice resonating pleasantly in their heads. She first apologizes for their harrowing experience with the Dryad, and that she hadn’t anticipated such a violent reaction from the Tree; she believes that their experiences point to an imbalance within the Tree itself, most likely brought about by the soon-to-come arrival of the Oracles.

She has spoken with Cyrus, and they have jointly decided that an investigation into the matter - and potentially the destruction of the Dryad - may be required to purge its influence from the Tree. Yima requests that any who would willingly seek out the Dryad volunteer to do so and will be outfitted with a ward against any tampering to prevent them from falling into the creature’s clutches a second time. It will take her a bit to fashion enough of these wards - but she anticipates being ready toward the end of the month.

She concludes her message with another heartfelt apology for your suffering, that she would not have sent any into such a situation she believed were truly dangerous. That being said, she takes responsibility for your ordeal and asks that if there is anything she can do in recompense, you have but to ask.

Yima will be available for Communion chatter here!

FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCE - HIGHSTORM

Takiltu is a month cycle the natives of Kenos regard with some amount of reverence and a hearty helping of excitement: the first part of the month (November) is spent reflecting on and celebrating the differing cultures and worlds each Kenosian represents. The second part of the month (December) is spent celebrating unity and togetherness, to come together with friends and family, to be kind to others and share in one’s wealth - whether that comes in the form of knowledge, monetary gains, or the exchange of gifts and one’s time.

Each city celebrates differently, the flavor of their festivals a reflection of their people.

In Highstorm, the first thirty days of Takiltu are spent in Remembrance. The city is decorated with string lights, paper lanterns, candles, and torches to illuminate the streets in beautiful colors and shimmering magical illusory shapes. The focal point of the festival takes place in The Court, where the reflecting pool has been especially decorated with arrangements of flowers and lights. Festival stands erected around the Courtyard peddle paper lanterns as well as refreshments, fanciful decorative items, and enchanted jewelry that is said to make one’s recollections of the past temporarily clearer.

The pool itself is the main attraction, here; citizens who approach its waters and gaze into its depths will find its normal abilities to reflect memories enhanced. The images are surreal for their clarity, vivid - and normally, one is requested to look into the eyes of those most precious to them whose souls remain lost, to pay homage to their memory and sacrifices, and to wish them rebirth in the new world to come. A purchased lantern is then lit and sent skyward where it floats into the moonlight, joining the others hovering above.

But this year, there is an addition to the usual fanfare. Emet-Selch has been asked to assist with the festival; as long as he is given permission, he can recreate the memory displayed in the reflecting pool. Yima has granted him a temporary blessing which enhances his natural creation abilities - a gift for their people she is grateful for. Your character can choose what it is they see in the water - whether it’s a place, a person, or the feelings of a certain point and time, he will temporarily recreate it around you. Everyone will be able to see this conjuring and interact with it while it is functional. It will last between 15 to 30 minutes before dissolving into beads of light that slowly trickle skyward before disappearing. You’ll be told to light a lantern, send it adrift, and that this will give peace to the part of you and your Shard that surely aches. But does it…?

Elsewhere in Highstorm, the High Theater has been painstakingly decorated and aglow with magical floating motes of light; the interior has been transformed into something of an Art Gallery. The pieces within are dedications to parts of worlds long gone, as well as the people in them; some are beautifully painted landscapes of exquisite, far-away places beyond the imagination. Some are more mundane and familiar snapshots of life in a home world not too different from your own. There are portraits of families, loved ones, and those the Zenites long for most. This is their time to mourn, to grieve, and to appreciate their pasts - the pasts that will lead them to a brighter future, one day. They must move on into the future, but treasuring that which came before is equally important to them.

Should you touch any of the motes of light that are around the art pieces decorating the Gallery, you will find yourself able to feel, hear, see, and taste a piece of the world the piece represents. Some of these are warm gatherings over a dinner table with family; others are heart-wrenching expressions of loss and bitterness and pain. Be cautious which you choose. Oh, and do be careful not to stand too closely with someone else when you touch one, or one accidentally touches you - the experience is absolutely contagious through Communion.

CELEBRATION OF CHERISHMENT - SPRINGSTAR

While Highstorm’s Festival of Remembrance is a more demure and reflective time, Springstar takes a much different approach to the season. In true Meri nature, the Celebration of Cherishment encapsulates celebrating life in all forms - and that means parties! The Psychagogía is the main hub of excitement considering, but festivities can be found in almost every single district of Springstar. Wherever you go, something is happening and someone is trying to rope you into having a good time.

The city has been decorated with bright and colorful multi-purpose magical ivy-like vines that sprouts buds that bloom over the course of the month into gorgeous flowers. These flowers are considered sacred, and their blooming is a momentous time of joy and good fortune. Each flower is left intact; disturbing one is tantamount to a war crime by the natives, so don’t get observed if you try to pluck one!

The Psychagogía is incredibly lively, teeming with people and events; almost every venue is peddling some kind of ‘Cherishment’ celebratory sale or discount. The first portion of the month includes what the locals call “the meri-ment” (and seem quite chuffed about that pun), in which Kenosians are encouraged to go bar hopping and taste the wide variety of specialty ales and liquor unkegged only around this time of year. Participants are highly encouraged to share stories of their worlds and cultures, to tell those they mingle with tales of the worlds they will one day return to and why they’re special, unique - to celebrate their one-day return.

Alongside this comes a great deal of outdoor grilling, fresh meats and vegetables sending tantalizing scents everywhere you go once the evening hours arrive. Some of these food and drinks can cause… interesting… effects if you consume them in excess, especially at the Emotional Damage - so try to show restraint. It would be a bit embarrassing to find yourself strangely infatuated with the first person you lay eyes on after your fifth night out on the town, or feeling compelled to express warm feelings aloud you wouldn’t normally commit to another. Luckily, it only lasts a short period of time - but beware the wicked hangover afterward. Strangely enough, if you’re suffering, you feel oddly compelled to seek out a little TLC from someone else - someone with whom you might have some unresolved feelings toward, positive or negative. Is it longing? Anger? Jealousy? Unspoken affections? Love? Whatever it is, you're more likely to seek them out for some care.

At the Coliseum, nightly brawls between Meris take place and the usual assortment of monsters are temporarily taken out of offer. This part of the festivities is one where each Kenosian is encouraged to settle any differences or misgivings with others and to get it out of their system, cleansing them of bad mojo - “leave it in the ring,” as it were. Despite beating each other bloody at times, most combatants willingly stop before it gets too serious and fighting to the death is not permitted. You must embrace your adversary before you leave, and your ‘bad blood’ will be considered purged and settled so you can start anew.

The Empório district is celebrating consumerism, because of course it is! All the usual goods are on a considerable discount, and for a brief time, gardening tools and supplies are free! The reason for this is that Springstar’s citizens are encouraged to plant one seedling in the gardens in Katoikitikós once the flowers lining the city have gone into full bloom. It is said this honors gods across cultures and time as well as invites good fortune. You are encouraged to plant a seedling in a group or pairing, as space is limited - and there are superstitions regarding this togetherness resulting in more favorable results. Should you plant a seedling with someone else, you might indeed find that something is beginning to blossom between you… Based on your Aspects, you might find yourselves feeling closer and more connected - or repulsed depending on your compatibility. This effect will last through the month after planting. Should you check on the seedling later, its health will be reflected in the state of your relationship. Friends will find the little plant thriving; enemies will find it is sickly and dying.

For those Shard-Bearers who have already harmonized with the Meridian or who have quarters in Heliopolis, you will find the communal meals much more lavish and indulgent than usual. There may even be a taste of home waiting for you among the spreads on offer, or some comfort food you haven’t had in a while. It is encouraged to share anything to your taste - or even to share why it is meaningful to you via Communion. Or you can just eat. You do you, man.

Once the flowers have bloomed and the festivities reach their peak, one might find the city loud and boisterous and sleep a little more difficult to come by. Springstar is absolutely thriving and alive - and you, too, feel more invigorated and energetic despite any lack of zzz’s. Should you leave the city, however, this effect will vanish and you might find yourself unnaturally fatigued and in need of more rest than is customary. Returning to Springstar will slowly build up your stamina again. This effect lasts until the end of the month.

THE MYSTERY OF ALENROUX

Once celebrations are in full-swing in the cities, some characters (i.e., any characters that choose to participate in this prompt) will be contacted by Cyrus or Yima, depending on their faction or whichever they feel a stronger inclination towards if they are currently Unharmonized. Both will explain that there’s something that they’d like you to investigate, but also to prepare and be careful, since this request doesn’t come without danger… A Shard has been lost in Alenroux, and they both hope you’ll be able to retrieve it.

MERIDIAN

“I’ve gotten word that a Zenith Shard-Bearer was sent to Alenroux a little bit before you arrived, and they haven’t come back yet. Normally, none of our business, but based on what some of the farmers have been saying, I think they’ve gotten hit by Discord. If it gets high enough, well… You don’t really have your mind anymore. We can help them through Purification. Even if it’s just for long enough to calm them down, it’s better than them being trapped in madness. It might be easier to dissipate them first, though, then Purify their Shard. They were last seen heading to the Northern forests. Let me know what I can give you to help, and make sure to help each other. Good luck.”

ZENITH

"Please heed my request, though I do not ask this of you lightly... One of the Zenith's children has been lost among the fields of Alenroux come nightfall and I fear the worst has befallen them. There are dangerous elements attracted to the presence of a soul, and the likelihood our brethren has been lost... it is great. Seek out the Shard - and if you are able to retrieve it, please do so. If it has suffered corruption too great to be saved or would place you in too great a danger to take back, then... I trust you to make the merciful choice. I place this in your hands and will give you whatever you require to see it through. Look out for your fellow Zenith and work together, as I do not want to lose more of you. Be well."

Both factions will offer their recruits access to standard weaponry and armor/protective clothing. If a character asks for more, they’ll be given a weapon or a piece of armor with minor magical properties which would normally cost 1 AC token to purchase. Magical weapons are on loan however. If your character takes these and/or chooses to keep it, please note this in your Committed Actions! If they choose to keep standard weaponry, Cyrus/Yima will just be disappointed in your dishonesty. :(

When you arrive during the day cycle, you’ll also find horses and magic hoverboards to use (they go the same speed tbh), because heading North to the forests is a bit of a trek, and you might not make it there in time on foot! As the sun starts to set, you’ll see the people in Alenroux start to leave, going clearly your opposite direction. Once night falls (Nov. 9th OOC), it doesn’t take long for things to change.

There’s just a sliver of a crescent moon in the sky, which makes the rolling hills and forests much more ominous than they were during the day. And as the stories say, it only takes an hour or two before you start to run into strange creatures. Closer to the Cornerstone, there are indeed strange creatures, and while they may not all look scary, they might present different kinds of dangers such as…

• A light in the dark looks like a fairy, but stare at it too long and you’ll find yourself hypnotized by a ghastly fish will lead you to a body of water to drown you.
• An innocuous puddle may form up into a mass of corrosive goo, complete with the bones and items of the last person it came across. When you slice it, it simply creates a copy of itself, so hopefully you realize this before you’re surrounded.
• A strange straw poppet (sans pins, of course) that possesses you once you touch it and will use your body to try and fight anyone else while your consciousness is trapped inside the doll. To be freed, you only have to destroy the doll, but you’ll feel the pain of how its destroyed even if you don’t bear any injuries from it.

However, as you get closer to the Northern forests, they become significantly more fearsome…

• With a roar, a massive, multiheaded beast descends, and each of its mouths is perfectly capable of taking a bite out of you. Watch out for the snake’s head in particular, since its venom will cause you to hallucinate your worst fears.
• As you come face to face with an odd creature, bioluminescence lights up on its skin, and the spins on its back quiver with a sound like a rattlesnake’s. As the spines quiver, you find it exceptionally difficult to take your eyes off them and move as it stalks closer slowly. You can fight blind, right?
• Diving in and out of larger shadows like its water is a slimy beast that’s incredibly fast. Its teeth may be small, but its tail is a razor-sharp whip that could remove a limb if you’re not careful.

These are just examples, however. There are many creatures lurking the wilds of Alenroux, so feel free to create your own monsters with unique effects.

It's a difficult trek North, and you may be tired from hours of running, fighting, or both… But eventually, a few people do find what they were looking for. They might have even missed it, if not for how their Shards suddenly felt like they were burning. From the shadows, a twisted creature of roots and lights which what looks like many crystals in a glowing mass appears and one of its eyes locks on you. It looks like now is your chance.

NOTES

Weather summary for the first 30 days of Takiltu (NOV & DEC):

Highstorm is in late fall, early winter season. Some flurries may occasionally fall and it is getting considerably cold out there! Bundle up!

Springstar is in the throes of early summer; the weather is climate and pleasantly warm for outdoor celebrations (but not sweltering). There are occasional afternoon showers, but they don’t last very long.

Notable city changes:

If you wander the Markets in Highstorm, you might notice some of the peddlers seem a bit wary of you. Hm, guess something happened around here! Probably totally unrelated, but Silco and Vander (or anyone with them) will be treated with nervous suspicion.

Similarly, if you're traveling with Set (or you're Set) in Springstar, you might occasionally find yourself getting strange looks. Ask Set why.

Faction updates:

There are no explicit changes in faction behavior at this time. This will be a staple in all future event write-ups to catalogue the fluidity of the conflict as it progresses, though, so we're including it here for posterity!

Event Notes:

The Reflecting Pool in the Courts of Highstorm can be observed normally with no addtional effects or can bring your memory to vivid life thanks to the help of Emet-Selch (and Yima). If you grant him permission (which can be handwaved), he will breathe life into whichever memory you have chosen to view! If this includes any NPC’s or interactive elements, you will be responsible for playing them out in any tags until they disappear. Please see Emet’s toplevel for any interactions you’d like to thread out with him as a part of this.

For the Gallery in Highstorm, the art depicted in and scenes experienced through the pieces are up to you to create! Feel free to go wild with any associated NPC's in the scene and worldbuild as you see fit. Highstorm holds a variety of citizens from across the multiverse, so you could feasibly go fantastical places, or experience something distinctly profound and beyond your imagination...

The drinks and refreshments in Springstar can be enchanted in just about any way you’d like, including bringing upon minor physical changes of the cute, fun, and flirty variety! Feel free to get creative (as long as you get permission from your thread partner), the Meris would also merrily insist growing extra fluffy, scaly, etc bits during the celebration will only help you party harder! 🥳

As reminders for Alenroux, once night falls, a character is not able to leave until sunrise, which is 24 hours later. If your character is dissipated, you can have a PC retrieve their Shard or the respective Faction they're allied with will send out a search party to find it. Remember to report character deaths!

CODING

Comments

[passio]

[ dextera could use the pool to see people he knew in horos who have not followed them to kenos, sure. he just thinks that would serve no purpose but to upset and further confuse him, particularly when one of the former horosians is the one conjuring those memories. what he sees from the people around him is what he wants for himself—fond memories of loved ones, unique experiences lost to the greater world. he has nothing that he feels only he has a claim to. ]

I can’t remember anything.

[ not for lack of trying. ]

There’s nothing there to show me.

[baltimores]

[ ... Hadn't been expecting that one.

The answer catches Amos off guard, and initially, all he can do is blink. He wonders if this is some kind of joke, but he doesn't know if Dextera is the joking type. (Doesn't really know anything about him, actually, if he thinks about it.) Doesn't seem like it, though.

So he isn't entirely sure what to do with this information. All he can really do is try to assuage him, which he tends to be bad at, but... eh. He can try. ]

Is that a bad thing?

[ Sure, Amos has memories of his own — but he's felt no need to try to revisit them. Doesn't really care either way, but he can see a way in which not having any memories is actually a good thing. Sometimes the good isn't exactly worth the bad — though he doesn't know what that would look like, to be without the bad at all.

But it could be a good thing, so it's an honest question. ]

[passio]

[ dextera has wondered the same thing himself. he’d tried to make the decision, even, to proceed into a new world without memories and to leave it all behind, but god wouldn’t allow it. if he’s going to keep himself sane, he needs those memories back. he needs to ground himself. ]

Yes.

[ his answer is curt, but there’s a wary hesitation behind it that makes it obvious he hasn’t quite finished his thought. ]

…don’t you think so?

[baltimores]

I dunno.

[ Amos shrugs; that's why he asked. He's not sure where this hesitation is coming from, since Dextera seemed pretty certain a second ago. He cocks his head at him, eyes narrowed slightly, like that'll help him see something he isn't already privy to. ]

There are some things I could do without remembering. Lot of things, actually. I don't think I really need them.

[ He turns to look at the pool. The reflection is normal; Dextera can't call any memories to its surface, and Amos isn't trying. Doesn't see the need. Doesn't particularly want to.

His voice turning bitter is a surprise even to him. ]

Probably be a better person without them, actually.

[passio]

[ it’s the conviction with which he says it that rubs dextera the wrong way. how can he be so sure? amos always sounds confident in a way dextera can’t begin to understand. a more sympathetic gaze might connect the dots between amos’ memories and his callous disregard, but dextera does lack when it comes to amos in particular. feathers ruffled, he too stares down at the pool.

his own face staring back at him is not an unfamiliar sight. he just wishes he could reach beyond the fog in his mind and make it move. ]

Then give them to me.

[ an impossible ask, except under the present circumstances. ]

Show me… show me what you’re so ungrateful for.

[baltimores]

Ungrateful?

[ Amos turns to look from the pool back at Dextera — the real one, not the one whose reflection is alongside his. His voice is a little surprised, not really having expected to be met with that word at all. Is that what he's being?

He lets the word hang in the air, frowning in thought as he turns to look back into the water, at the way his own memories seem to come up to the surface. He turns his head — away from the ones at the beginning of his life, those will be closed off no matter what, always, he doesn't want to look at them either — and picks one at random.

He'd call it innocuous, but he'd call most of them that. It makes no difference to him.

Amos watches with blank eyes as the memory comes up to the surface — him and three others, two men and one woman, seated around a table in the galley of a spaceship. One of the men is serving up something that could pass for lasagna, talking about everything that went into it. Lots of soy. The other man and woman are both listening with something akin to fond interest while also ready to just eat; the Amos in the memory — younger by just a couple of years — is in the process of sitting down and waiting his turn, a smile that's simultaneously blank and affectionate on his face. Like he can only actually feel part of what he's feeling, the rest drowned out into something muted.

The Amos standing at the pool's edge blinks as the memory starts to play out, tilting his head slightly. ]

We always made time at least once a week to eat together. [ His voice is rough; Amos clears his throat, proceeds like nothing was ever the matter. ] Family dinner, they called it.

[ In the memory, with three bowls already filled up, the younger Amos just takes the tray the lasagna was served in and jabs his fork into it, freeing up his first bite directly from the source. The woman laughs; the man who had been doing the serving takes one of the already-filled bowls for himself and digs into it, smiling into it with a comment about how glad he is that what he cooked is popular. The other man says something to Amos about eating more than his fill, to which a smiling Amos retorts that he does the most heavy lifting around here, he's the one who's gonna put those calories to the most use, which draws another laugh.

The present-day Amos looks on with little in the way of an expression, like he's watching some domestic scene from a movie and not what was evidently a happy part of his own life. ]

Alex was always real proud of that recipe. Think he roped me into making the sauce that time.

[passio]

[ it is ingratitude.

dextera feels all the more certain as he watches the memory play out in front of them, brought about by the magic of the pool. he watches amos’ memory the same way he’s watched his own, a story told in reflection; the person telling it seems even more divorced than dextera has been, like there’s some unreachable distance between who amos is and who he’s looking at.

it’s not fair. amos knew a happiness unlike anything that’s waiting for dextera beyond the fog, and he regards it like it’s none of his business. with the same detached sense of being that he’s regarded everything else in dextera’s presence. that’s a baroque. something is wrong with amos, to have experienced this love and have still turned out the way he has, but for the first time dextera doesn’t know what to do with this.

he doesn’t—

he doesn’t hate amos. the man has done nothing, really, except express the kind of loyalty that most people would be happy to have. it’s just what he looks like, doing it. what he represents. ]

I’ve never had a meal with my brother. I don’t know anything about him.

[ there’s pain in his voice, strained. he wants what amos is showing him, like he could appreciate it so much better. ]

[baltimores]

[ Amos tilts his head, looking away from the memory and back at Dextera. After all, Dextera is the one who's actually here. Dextera is the one who actually matters right now — because his former family is dead, so this scene before them is nothing. He's quiet as he watches him, trying to figure out what to say to that. (He isn't even going to start with the emotions he's picking up from him — they're foreign to him, they don't make a lick of sense.)

One of the men in the memory launches into a discussion about real cheese, and that kinda gets everyone around the table going, happiness and excitement bubbling up, all the while the present-day Amos is trying to figure out what he's supposed to say to Dextera.

Eventually, ] You know that you had one. That's something.

[ ... It's a real effort. Like, okay, Amos is a lost cause, but he knew that. Dextera might be able to pick up on something faint from Amos, something buried so deep down he himself isn't aware of it, that could be considered love when regarding this memory he's selected, but as far as Amos knows, he feels nothing. It's academic. If anything, all he feels is an awkwardness at trying to figure out what to even do right now.

But Dextera... probably shouldn't be a lost cause. (Archangel wouldn't want him to be one, he's pretty sure.) ]

What would you do? If you knew about him.

[ Would it even matter... because he'd be dead, right... ]

[passio]

[ dextera’s threat wasn’t unfounded, before; if he could tear these memories out from amos and have them for himself, he would do it. he’s never met these people in his life and will never have the chance, but when he’s just an empty vessel, he’s had plenty of practice trying to imagine what his life was like before. he can see himself at a table like this. he wouldn’t be able to follow the conversation, but that’s nothing new.

ungrateful, he thinks again. amos doesn’t understand. he wouldn’t ask a question like that if he understood, because he would just know. ]

I…

[ his fingers tighten in his own shirt, scar throbbing under his clothes. ]

I would bring him back. Isn’t that what you’re doing? Weren’t you given someone’s Shard?

[baltimores]

[ Amos doesn't understand. He doesn't understand anything from Dextera right now — neither the envy nor the question. He blinks at him, his own confusion evident. ]

No. They're dead. People die all the time and stay dead. I know it doesn't exactly work like that for people like us, but it does for them, and maybe it's better to just let sleeping dogs lie.

[ The thought had never occurred to him, to ask for any one of his people's shards. It still isn't on his mind as a possibility. He's just trying to do the right thing, right? And that's all any of his people would want for him. That's enough.

He stays silent a moment longer, turning his head slightly as though to get a different look at Dextera. ]

Yima didn't give you your brother's shard? [ Since he wants to bring him back... ] Then you wouldn't need to know anything about him. He could tell you.

[ Kind of seems like an obvious solution? Not like Amos is the one here with problems needing solving; he's all good. ]

[passio]

[ amos’ insistence that dead people stay dead is a fundamental difference between them. dextera would rip his brother’s body out of the ground and puppet him if he could, even if he realizes it would be a desecration. he can’t say if amos’ approach is better or worse, but his own is the one dextera prefers.

he’s quiet, then, imagining how someone could be so divorced from their past that they wouldn’t want it back. dextera has complicated feelings about his own past, certainly, but amos seems utterly indifferent. ]

…

[ dextera finally shakes his head when amos asks his question. ]

She could have. But I don’t want it. [ he hesitates here, uncertain about how much he wants to reveal to amos of all people. it’s not like he thinks amos can hurt him with this knowledge, it’s just… the principle. ] It wouldn’t be the same. I don’t want to create something new. I want to go back.

[baltimores]

That's... not how it works.

[ Dextera is increasingly confusing him. Amos isn't trying to lecture him or persuade him or anything like that, it's just that now that he's actually talking to him for the first time — what feels like the first time for him, since the very first time he'd approached Dextera he'd hardly seen him as his own person (a common occurrence; nothing personal buddy) — he's beginning to understand the cavernous distance between them.

Which, okay, maybe some of that animosity makes a little more sense now. Either way. ]

It won't be the same even if you go back. You can't live in the past, that's why it's the past. You get there, and then what? You're gonna be moving forward no matter what. That's all there is.

[ The memory in the pool continues to play out in the background, but Amos is barely paying attention to it. It's something he cares enough to remember, a moment of familial love and bonding over a shared meal, but going back to that time wouldn't do anything. All he'd do is live in that moment a little longer, and then it would end, and he'd be on to the next thing, and the next, and the next, no matter what.

His voice dips, quieter, more thoughtful — more like he's speaking to himself rather than Dextera. ]

All any of us got is putting one foot in front of the other until we can't anymore.

[passio]

[ why would you even want to go back? there’s nothing there for you.

he remembers the sentry angel’s advice. it had almost seemed kind, but dextera hadn’t been able to see it that way—and this time, there’s a merciful distance between what he had said then and what amos is saying now that keeps dextera from lashing out as he has in previous encounters. the tentative peace they stand on remains in place, and that has to be enough. ]

…

[ dextera has never once wanted to move forward. what he wants is to go back or die. ]

No. [ dextera says this softly, but for the first time, he isn’t rejecting amos with anger. ] You can stay there. You can. If you let yourself watch these memories until you die, wouldn’t that be the same?

[baltimores]

[ That softness gets his attention more than any anger ever would. It speaks to a certainty in Dextera, like Amos has for himself — he knows what he wants.

It's just so incompatible with the way he knows the world to actually work. Amos is silent for a moment as he lifts his head to look back at him, struggling with what it is Dextera has said. ]

That what you want? To waste away watching the past? [ It's the same tone as before — quiet, thoughtful, a genuine question because he doesn't understand this at all. ] I dunno if that's the same. I'd never go back to it.

[ A beat, a small shrug. ]

Guess I can't answer you there.

[ And maybe Dextera will never be able to provide any answers for him, either — maybe this is their impasse being spelled out loud and clear, a gap too wide to ever be bridged, two worldviews so thoroughly incompatible that they'll be stuck at this point forever.

Even though they're both Exalts, and that thought gives Amos pause, before he asks, ] Is that what your people would want for you?

[ Is it? He lives his entire life for his people. Is Dextera not the same even there? ]

[passio]

[ it’s funny how one little conversation—granted, one little conversation after the world was destroyed and he was murdered at the other party’s hands in a separate incident—can change dextera’s regard. rather than anger, he feels defeat creeping in, and he sinks to sit down with his chin resting on his knees as he gazes over amos’ mundane memory.

these are his people. they don’t seem bad. dextera couldn’t possibly know and he likely never will with amos’ attitude toward the past, but it says something about amos. doesn’t it? what does it say? ]

…you saw him.

[ the archangel, his “person.” ]

You’re living for yours. In your own way. I understand. But mine…

[baltimores]

[ ... He recognizes the defeat, he just doesn't understand why it's being put into practice here and now.

Amos watches as Dextera physically sinks, feels as he emotionally does, eyes on him and nowhere else because... he's still the only one here right now. The memory is old, nothing to see. After a moment, he lowers himself to the ground, too, squatting beside Dextera and looking at him curiously.

A beat. ]

Archangel?

[ His voice is still soft, genuine. Dextera's understood him, so... now it's time to for him to do everything he can to reciprocate. ]

He's a good person, isn't he? Wouldn't he want you to keep moving forward, do what's right? He seems like that kind of guy. Someone who'd want the best for you. Would help you get there if you wanted.

[ It seems straightforward. What's he missing? ]

[passio]

[ dextera knows why he trusted the archangel. he awoke with no memories, and the only person who would speak to him with anything like guidance had been the man himself. he doesn’t understand amos’ excuse. amos has others, he saw the archangel allow dextera’s death without so much as a tear, and yet he still has some quirk of the mind that makes him think the archangel is a good person.

…or, perhaps it is dextera who is wrong, again. the archangel’s kindness is real and dextera is the one who needs help. that’s what the world always seems to say to him. ]

…

[ he can’t sabotage the archangel’s relationships with others on a whim, although he had no qualms about trying to do it to amos. he just shakes his head. ]

I’m a lost cause.

[baltimores]

Archangel didn't seem to think that. I don't think he thinks that of anyone.

[ Death is just something that happens, and then you move on. Archangel facilitating Dextera's death had been but a blip to Amos — they were going to bring Dextera back anyway, so it didn't matter. They had a poison to contend with, and it seemed like the quickest way to get out of the bind the four of them found themselves in with the least amount of harm done. Archangel had taken charge, left no room for arguing, and it had worked.

And he hadn't been a dick about it. That part was important, too.

Amos tilts his head, staying down on Dextera's level. ]

He doesn't think I'm a lost cause. Why would you be?

[ Because Amos probably should be, but he keeps trying and trying and trying — and if Dextera does the same then there'd be hope for him too, wouldn't there? ]

[passio]

[ that’s just how things go, isn’t it. the archangel is so good at convincing people of the things he wants them to believe—or, yet again, maybe he just speaks the truth and dextera is the only person fighting it. ]

…

[ his brow furrows, the skin under his eyes crinkles up into a frustrated squint down at the pool that’s no longer offering him any guidance or insight into how amos might have ended up like this. really, it’s not something he had in the first place—he knows less because he learned more. ]

He’ll tell you. If you ask. [ he can’t believe that amos is inquiring because he’s worried about dextera; or if he is, it’s the same bizarre innocence that has annoyed him before. ] He’ll help anyone if they need it.

[ anyone, that is, who hasn’t destroyed the world. ]

[baltimores]

[ Amos frowns; yeah, he's missing something here. ]

If you're okay with him spilling your dirty laundry for you. I know I got things I don't want people to know about — [ so, things he would never call up in the reflecting pool; an entire portion of his life completely closed off, just like that — ] so if it's the same deal for you, then it's none of my business. You don't seem like a bad guy, just...

[ He trails off there, not entirely sure how to put it. Because, as far as he knows, Dextera hasn't actually done anything wrong. He has a problem with him for some reason, would offer him up as sacrifice without a moment's hesitation, but those aren't inherently bad things. More like. Something Amos might do, actually. ]

Maybe just someone who needs help, too.

[ Just like him — and just what Archangel will offer. ]