♥ September (Ohnir) Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

September (Ohnir) Event Log
The month of Ohnir brings with it a slow but steady relief from the heat, as summer gives way to autumn and the city begins to change with it. Plants are slowly deflowering, leaves are starting to fade and fall, and while the season is not yet in full swing, all the signs are there if you know where to look. The city is abuzz with new energy as the residents realize that for the first time in centuries, they have some actual nature clean-up ahead of them: raking leaves, pruning branches, protecting young wildlife and fresh plants from the incoming chills of winter. Such work used to be relegated to those who cared for the botanical gardens and zoos, but now everyone who's been enjoying this year's garden harvest has to learn how to future-proof their treasured flowers. Offworlders are encouraged to do the same, lest all of the growth be lost over the winter.

---

❥ PROMPT I: A Clean Getaway

With all of the work to be done, it's no surprise that some are looking for new ways to refresh themselves and relax, and what better time would there be to open up the Public Baths! All the volunteer work cleaning the place has paid off, and the facilities are officially open and available for use. It is technically free to use, as a public facility, but those visiting are encouraged to tithe a small donation once in a while to pay for upkeep and freshen up the place, provide new soaps, etc. No judgment if you can't! It'll just make everything that much nicer in the long run.

The baths are separated into a few sections: oil baths for the native residents, and water baths for the offworlders. For obvious reasons, offworlders are encouraged not to enter the robot-residential sections! Though they are not strictly forbidden... it would be quite messy and bad for your health.

The offworlder half has additional separated sections that may interest characters when they visit:

1) Hot Springs Style - Clothed or Unclothed: there are 3 available rooms for each, one for separate presented genders, and a shared bath for those comfortable with the concept or don't wish to use either male or female. Each room has one larger pool and a few smaller sets, so you can sit by yourself or with others as you please.

2) Pool: a shared public pool! The water is nice and cool, which should be a comfort to those still struggling with the lingering summer heat. There is some water game equipment available for open use if people want to play and get their sports on.

3) Sauna: similar to the springs, once again, there are 3 rooms for gender splits so everyone can enjoy the place at their own comfort level.

It all seems very nice and relaxing for everyone, but this wouldn't be a proper event without some shenanigans now, would it? There are a few effects that may occur within the baths, and these effects are somewhat random. Some characters may experience them to a powerful degree, while others feel nothing at all. Players can decide for themselves who and where these will affect, so feel free to mix, match, and go wild. The effects are:

• The spring water is so relaxing that you feel free and more willing to talk about yourself, or share your feelings more openly.


• The swimming pool is cool and energizing, making you want to horse around and play with others nearby. You may also feel inclined to drape yourself onto others, like a cool, comfy pillow.


• The sauna has you dishing up spicy hot takes, releasing negative emotions or complaints, and makes you a little more inclined to gossip.

All effects can either be nullified or emphasized according to player discretion by physical contact. For some characters, holding hands or something will stop the effects, but for others it'll intensify them - it should keep characters guessing!

❥ PROMPT II: REM Stands for Realistic Emotional Memory in These Parts

Characters who were around last year might remember a bout of strange and sporadic dreams that plagued the town around this season, along with the sensation that they were being followed. This year, dreams once more enter uninvited to one's mind, but this time, it occurs as a random daydream while they are awake, and it is very different from person to person- instead encouraging you to do the following. All visions start out hazy, like a grainy old movie where details and figures are difficult to make out, but there is something both familiar and alien about it. It feels like a memory… but it is not your memory. Over time, the visual begins to clear the more often the dream repeats, until slowly the images grow more distinct, offering clearer faces, the addition of voices, discernable quotes or expressions. The memory will provide hints as to who it might belong to, though the subtlety of those hints will likely vary. Before too long, if you have not found a way to rid yourself of the dream, you will experience an entire memory of another person in town as if you were witnessing it from their perspective!

Now, how does one rid themselves of these strange visions? You could wait it out, if you're patient enough and not inclined to seek the answer, but those who've been here long enough can wager a guess: you must find the source of that memory and "send" it back to them through physical interaction of some kind. Some memories may take longer to transfer than others, and it may depend on the person, the memory itself, how clear the memory has become in the time you carried it… no two experiences are likely to be the same.

There are a few specifics about these memories that are worth noting:

• the memory should be of a single event, not a series of events that span a long period of time. For example, you could witness the stretch of someone's day at a wedding or long party (sped up to skip insignificant moments so it doesn't play in real time), but not a memory of an entire war that goes for months. How long the memory goes for is up to the player that the memory belongs to, as long as it falls within these guidelines.


• you are not limited to a single memory from a single person. Once you have solved one vision, after a certain amount of time, you may find yourself plagued with another.


• you will not necessarily end up having the same memory partner! You won't always have the memory of the person who has your memory. Characters are encouraged to pair up and try to piece together clues that might lead you to your intended partner. Help each other out and guide one another in the right direction if you can.


• those whose memory has been borrowed may find it difficult to recall it; it can seem fuzzy and indistinct, missing entirely or simply missing choice details. Through physical contact, that memory will fully return to them and both participants can experience it together.


• you can find your partner accidentally! If you're still searching for clues and happen to touch your partner through other circumstances - such as shake their hand at first meeting, or hug a friend - you may find both of you are suddenly experiencing a memory together as it is transferred! Aren't you lucky, to have found your partner so easily?

!!! IMPORTANT !!! The contents of the memory shared is up to you, but please be mindful of harmful subjects and tag/mark your comments and toplevels accordingly! Triggering memories should be noted with content warnings. Be kind to your fellow players! If someone asks you to tag something and you have not done so, please correct it as soon as possible. Untagged comments that aren't adjusted and are reported to us may be subject to mod screening until the issue is resolved.

❥ PROMPT III: I Shall Fight With My Bear Hands

Closer to the tail end of the month, one of the research facilities distributes a "Help Wanted" advertisement through the network, requesting the aid of offworlders. The advertisement reads:

"Calling all offworlders! Havenwell Research and Development is seeking volunteers for both physical prowess and supernatural ability testing. All are welcome! Even if you have no combat skills and feel only a desire to learn, we have a job for you. Those who already possess some form of self-defense or combative powers will be partnered and asked to "spar" in a partially digitized facility, or proceed with a simulation that will gauge destructive capabilities. And for those who possess neither, don't worry! Our program is specially designed to help you discover just where your talents lie.

No harm should come to any volunteers, as this is strictly simulation-based, similar to the virtual reality technology already widely used throughout the city. However, in case of any accidents, medical staff is on site to treat injuries as needed. Additionally, there is no need for you to wear any of the VR headgear typically required in our cafes, so if these devices cause you discomfort, this may be a simulation that better meets your needs.

Please contact us ASAP if you are willing and able to help. A monetary commission will be awarded upon completion of each session."

Any volunteers or inquiries will be provided with more information, and invited to one of the research towers located in town. They are guided to a floor that is abuzz with activity, partnered with whoever happens to be scheduled at the same time or a partner they themselves opted to bring with them, and taken to a room akin to Star Trek's holodeck. There, they can input "powers" or "no powers", and a simulation will be created for them based on their selected guidelines.

With Powers:
The console invites characters to select one of two options- their own abilities, or temporarily gain access to the elemental powers offered via AC Rewards (point levels 50, 100, and 200). They are able to choose a particular power level for the duration of the simulation, which can either dampen their natural abilities to a more fair level for the test you're undertaking, or remain normal. While in the simulation room, rather than actually using any real abilities, the room will materialize whatever ability you choose without causing true damage to either the room or your opponent. Science, or magic? It's probably both. Feel free to go wild and have fun, maybe try some powers you've never experienced before or vent your frustrations on being stuck here!

Without Powers:
The console invites characters to select a type of weapon and skill level, and said weapon will materialize in a basic form; while held inside the room it moves and feels real, but it cannot be removed from the facility. Those who are skilled in utilizing said weapon are free to wield it as if it were the genuine article in their chosen simulation. Those without much or any skill will be walked through a tutorial on basic techniques from a variety of styles, old or new, most unfamiliar but well suited to the body type of the person using the program. It's quite intuitive, though it is by no means perfect, so characters might end up being guided through a stranger workout than intended.

For versus mode, each participant has an HP bar displayed above their heads, and everyone has the same HP unless both players select an unbalanced mode, and the goal is to force your opponent to hit zero HP. Characters can also choose how realistic the simulated violence is and how the process feels: in low realism, it's similar to laser tag, where characters flash a colour when hit and take damage without feeling anything more than some uncomfortable vibration. In high realism, pain is genuine to a certain degree depending on how high a level they choose, though it is artificial and will fade as soon as the program ends. Hitting zero HP will not result in a knock-out, but characters will feel dizzy and be forced to sit down, unable to rise again until they surrender. All effects wear off as soon as the simulation ends.

For demonstration mode, participants are given a selection of virtual targets to practice on using whatever method of combat they've chosen. It could be moving targets, such as creatures that have invaded the barrier previously (via the Wild Wild prompt), or simulations of the more dangerous beasts in the museum/zoo areas of town. It could be simple targets built to take a beating without providing much challenge in return. It could be a collection of buildings that characters can break or explode as they please. This mode is designed to gauge just how strong a person's destructive potential is, either with their own powers or with powers granted to those who have been blessed by their patron god.

Characters are welcome to volunteer as many times as there are available partners and/or slots! So feel free to try a few times using different options.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Bonus Trip Down Memory Lane

Last year, some offworlders might remember the tradition of sharing stories in the temple of Ohma, to offer small tributes to the god on their first month of devotion. It is that time of the year again, and everyone is welcome to return and share more stories, or perhaps retell an old favourite to a new audience. Here is the event as described previously:

Ohma's temple is particularly lively during Ohnir and the priests are busy cleaning and sweeping, decorating it with rolls of parchment and digital inkwells and quills that write as if they were actually fountain pens. The natives, especially adherents of Ohma, start to make pilgrimages to the temple in little processions, some playing music, others flying banners.

Anyone who chooses to follow can observe the natives going up to the altar and sharing stories with one another. They talk about things they did over the past year or things that are far, far in their past. Some of the stories are happy and result in the procession laughing and some are...well, not everyone returns safely from certain disasters that befall the city throughout the year. The priests diligently write every story down on those parchment rolls and deposit them onto the waiting altar, where they're summarily lit on fire to the cheers of those present. The more emotional the story it seems, the brighter and bluer the flame that it emits and the louder the procession cheers.

As the file out, they notice you watching and urge you to go up with someone else in the temple to clear your heart and offer up your own stories. They can be stories of home, information about your worlds, or stories about your life.

---

This event will run from September 14th to 30th. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread.

Comments

[carbungle]

[Complicated indeed. He listens, but he's not sure he understands. War was... destroying the world? And her brother wanted to push them over the edge? And Pyra- Mythra agreed- but fought him nonetheless. Is... that why she needs to sacrifice for the world? Because the alternative is this terrible destruction?

He feels a shiver up his spine, an uncomfortable resonance. Having to fight a family member who longed for the world's inevitable destruction... now that he knows Ardyn, he can fathom how terrible something like that might have felt. And they'd done it despite... agreeing with him? He could never agree with what Izunia's done or what he intends, but should he carry his memories from this place they won't make it easier to end his immortal life. If he'd agreed that mankind should be ended... he could never do it, even at the behest of the gods. Mythra, Pyra... they must be so strong. But why would they agree with something like that?]

...Hang on. [He hesitates, frowning, feeling unsure.] Just because he's correct doesn't mean he was right. Even if they suffer, it's still their lives to live. It... isn't wrong to let them choose. Doing what you did- you helped save people.

[iustaegis]

[ She shuts her eyes. Letting people choose their path, even should it lead to their destruction... isn't that the way it should be? She had expressed that to Addam, that the future was in their hands. That all changed; it became muddled, messy, the more she fought upon the earth. That mess only exacerbated when she confronted her brother. ] I believe that. They should have that chance, even should they fall eventually.... It-- just felt wrong to fight him. He's-- was... is a part of me.

I fought for that... I fought to stop him. But I destroyed so much. Coeia, a great Titan, fell-- I couldn't stop him. Then I burned Temperantia, another Titan. Finally, Torna, the largest... [ She draws in a shaky breath. This all happened within a year, and the more she thinks about that single year, of all she had met as Mythra and everyone she had seen, the continents to which she had traveled, the children, the life on all the Titans' backs... When she shuts her eyes, she sees only ghosts. ]

I didn't save people, Noct. I ruined their lives, their homes, their land. We beat him. [ For now, anyway. ] In the end... I caused more destruction than he did.

In our final battle, he reminded me of my purpose-- something I had forgotten, after awakening. I alone have the privilege to destroy our universe.

[carbungle]

[He remembers her speaking of the Titans before, and what her words mean. They were continents. Entire continents fell and burned and were destroyed. It's horrifying to think about, especially now that he's seen the breadth of Lucis in person rather than just on a map, taken a train through Niflheim's stolen territory and seen the scale of his own world. Losing two continents would mean losing most of Eos entirely. It's unimaginable.

That sort of destructive power, it... doesn't sound at all like a privilege. And by the tone of her voice, with how much she struggles with it despite trying to remain strong, he can't imagine her viewing it as such, either. Not when all he's seen of her before has been a focus on saving, saving people, saving the world, this one and his own and hers, especially. It doesn't match up with all he's seen her say and do since they met. Not if it wasn't necessary, not if there was another way.

His eyes drift from her to the field around them, feeling her against his side and the solid tree trunk at his back. Elysium, a paradise. It's beautiful, lush and peaceful, but... empty, just as she'd said. Just her alone, for centuries. He's quiet, thinking over what he might say to that, how he feels about her words. Finally, he speaks up again only to ask,]

How long ago was that? Do you know what the world is like now?

[iustaegis]

Five hundred years.

[ A slow demise is its fate. Nations struggle for resources. It causes more fear, more war.

While she receives all evolutionary data-- all the lives, all the deaths that come and go, brought back to her-- the information is too immense through which to sift in her current state. In a more wakeful state, it had been but a process in the background, a function that came innately to her to just let be. However, just like thinking too hard about this memory of Elysium, wading though all of those points of information is like being consumed in a ocean she can only just see a small portion off. She doesn't know specifics. But she feels--

There had been another great Titan falling after she had been sealed, but she knows not the reasons why. Then, recently, just before she had been awakened in Havenwell, another great continent fell. Its collapsing body had rippled the entire Cloud Sea...

So she knows this: ] ....It's dying, still.

[ While Noctis looks towards the horizon of the realm, Pyra's head bows as she shuts her eyes. ] And I would only make it sooner.

[carbungle]

[It's... sad. It's so, so terribly sad. Listening to her, suddenly a great deal of what she's said or even vaguely alluded to in the past makes a lot more sense. Her last words especially worry him; when they spoke of sacrificing for their mutual worlds, she hadn't specified the how or why, and he'd been too upset to question her. Is she doing it because she has to die to save the world, or because her death would prevent the destruction she's fearing now?

Because that doesn't sound right. And he can't accept it, if that's her answer.]

Pyra... think about how many generations that is. If your brother wanted to destroy all the humans, and Mythra stopped him, then that's 500 years they were able to live and grow, thanks to you. Every person still alive after 500 years is only there because you saved them.

[He tries to think about the span of 500 years, but like when he tries to imagine the 2000 years Ardyn was locked away, he can't fathom it. He can hardly parse the 10 years he'll be in the Crystal. He's 20 years old (21!) and he's forgotten most of his childhood. 500 years is so, so long. A single human would be lucky to live a fraction of that time.]

You don't have to save the world forever. Saving just one person means so much to them. It might be dying, but it's still alive 500 years after it could have died, and that's thanks to you.

[iustaegis]

Don't--- [ She pleads, voice strengthening only to lose its resolve. Her gaze lowers again. ] Don't frame it with me.

Think how many more could-- [ --could save, is what she almost says, but she stops herself here. The honor of claiming to save the world isn't for her, it's for those like Addam, for the one she will choose next. For her, it's far more about not wanting to destroy or harm any more. ] ...live.

[ It's just as he thinks. A single human life could be grateful, but what of the ones lost? The ones she had harmed? Their suffering, their fleeting lives are not to be brushed aside. This has weighed upon her for the past five centuries, how her seeking her erasure gambles upon one key thing: that her Father would grant it, should she beg him for it. Non existence seems so far beyond anything she can reach, for how far her memory goes. ]

[carbungle]

It's not- it's not just you. [Mostly, in this moment, but hell if he can't go deeper.] It's for any person who can't save everyone but still does more than nothing. The world's full of people like that- who tried, and did less than perfect. Even me. What if I'd gone into the Crystal ten years ago? How many more could live to see the sunrise if there wasn't ten years of darkness to suffer through, if I'd been doing my job instead of screwing around? Won't the survivors resent all the deaths that happen while I'm gone? I think about that too- I'm scared like hell that the only thing people will say after I'm dead is that I finally got around to fixing my own mess.

[And it doesn't matter, in the grand scheme of things. It doesn't change his decision. But it hurts, thinking about how many people will suffer and die in the dark waiting on him to do his one job, who'll remember not the Chosen or the King of Light but the King of Taking His Damn Time as they bury their comrades during his absence. How many lives will that be?

He shakes his head, shoving those thoughts aside and rushing onward- because he knows, he knows if he gives her an inch she'll just shift the topic away from herself again. Because the same logic isn't allowed to apply to her specifically, somehow.]

Look... I have to believe that saving some, even if not all, is worth the suffering and fighting that people like us have to go through. That it's worth the sacrifice. Otherwise- what's the point? Why not let your brother destroy everything, if it's all or nothing?

[iustaegis]

[ The Praetorium's canon goes that at one point all used to live within Alrest until the Architect dismissed them to live upon the Divine Beasts-- the Titans. Then upon death, some may return to Elysium as a paradise, while others reincarnate.

There has not been a single soul that has passed through this realm of hers... At least, not without her invitation.

Pyra is silent for a few moments after he finishes speaking, her gaze lowered, her head bowed. Elysium has the effect of calming her, as it has done for the past five hundred years. It's serene, a dream, a paradise where all of Alrest could live in again. ]

Noct... that's why. [ She says at last. ] My world still exists, even if the Titans are dying, the humans are killing them, and the humans fight over what they have left. [ They accelerate their demise, as it were. ] But without me, they would still be able to survive, to exist. Perhaps for hundreds, thousands of years more.

[ Her hand tightens in her lap. ]

I... know what you're saying. That perhaps I helped people exist for a little more-- perhaps I can more. But I don't want to cut that short.

[carbungle]

[He can't help feeling a little confused by that, taking a moment to consider the implications of those words.]

Pyra, you make it sound... [Wait, wait. This can't be right.] Is that why you spoke about sacrificing for it...?

[If she's saying that she should die to prevent more destruction-]

[iustaegis]

That is why, Noct.

[ At last she turns to look at him. ]

It is inevitable.

[carbungle]

[It'd felt wrong in his head before. It feels even more so, now that she's said it.]

No... no. No way. There's nothing inevitable about it if it's a choice you can make in the future! How could that possibly be the best option?

[He grits his teeth, suddenly vehement. All he'd needed was confirmation. Locking herself away- he doesn't like that either. But being completely erased, over a maybe? It's absurd. It's wrong, so wrong.]

There has to be something else. I won't accept that.

[iustaegis]

[ She looks at him is disbelief, betrayal, and her voice drops to a cold, horrified whisper. Of all people, she thought he would-- ]

What are you saying? There is no other way.

[carbungle]

[The betrayal in her eyes stings - he knows, he knows the hypocrisy of it - but he can't help how wrong it feels. A sacrifice to prevent a greater evil- that, he understands, and he'd assumed that was the case when he'd accepted her answer before. But he can't in a hundred years, or five hundred, or more, imagine her being the threat that needs to die, for the world to be saved. That is what's wrong.]

Why not? Why is it inevitable?

[iustaegis]

Because--

[ Her voice quivers with an inhale as she attempts to explain herself. Why is it inevitable? Because she feels it in the core of her very being, tied to a power that will trigger all to end and then rebuild. ] Because I feel-- [ Her hand covers the crystal at her chest, eclipsing its light as if it could burn him.

That is her power, her privilege, something her brother did not have but coveted all the same. Because she knows that it's happened before, but the memories and data are muddled and nauseating.

She doesn't know how to explain it. ] Because it's not a question of if, but when.

[carbungle]

That isn't an answer.

[His hand tightens a little around hers, as if afraid that challenging her on this too much will cause her to reject him and send him away, something he knows she can do- she has all the control here. Still, he can't help being stubborn. Reiterating the same point isn't satisfying his confusion, so it won't be enough to convince him either. Inevitable she says, when she says, but there's no reason behind it. It only sounds like fear.]

[iustaegis]

[ Finally her eyes lift to meet his, and her expression is entirely helpless. Her other hand, still held by his, goes slack. ] I-- I don't know... Instinct! A feeling, Noct.

[carbungle]

Feelings... can change. Instincts can be wrong.

[It's the smallest of hopeful slivers, but he clings to it anyway, focusing in on it as he grasps for alternatives. Feelings aren't inevitable. Feelings aren't a guarantee. It means she hasn't been given a reason to feel that there's a better alternative. Not yet. Right?

He has to try. It isn't fair that she have to endure this fate without being forced into a corner.]

Doesn't that mean that you still have a choice? You can look for better options. Save the world, and yourself, too. Or- do you want to die?

[He'd said it in a rush, but as soon as the words are out his chest aches, terrified of the answer. Mostly because he... doesn't know what her answer might be.]

[iustaegis]

[ It's either her or this world. If she remains, then it won't be this world; it'll be gone, and another will replace it. It happened before, it will happen again: a matter of time, that's all it will be, until the end.

Yet in answer to his question a single word lifts from her tongue, acrid and blasphemous, and without her able to stop it at the height of her corrupting emotions: ] ...No.

[ This is the only way, she tells herself, to deliver the world its freedom from being ended. It would be a chance for her brother to laugh at in the end, the chance for humans to ruin the world on their own, by their own accord, by their own means, bleeding the land they gave them bit by bit as the millennia turned. It would be a slow and painful death for the world they created, but it would be theirs, and it would not be cut short...

How she hopes that they'll defy the path upon which they are set. She also tells herself this: there is always hope. However, that hope is only there without her to stifle it. ]

[carbungle]

[She's stubborn, too. He knew that, of course, and to an extent he understands the tenacity. He'd been much the same way with Cor, trying to come to terms with his own fate while the other tried to convince him to search for a way to live. On the other hand, if the freaking top-tier god of the world says it's time to die, what else is he supposed to do?

Here, it's... like she's telling herself that she has to. And that isn't right. To make a sacrifice like that, it should be the last resort, the best option. Only after all options are explored. He's not convinced of that yet.]

If you want to live, then try that, first. Fight with everything you've got, find help- anything. Nobody should have to die unless there's no other way.

[He doesn't care if it makes him sound like a hypocrite. He wants to save her, wants her to have the sort of future he can't. Projecting? Sure, maybe. But protecting is what he prefers, and he's decent enough at it most days that he's planting his feet here and now until he's forced to move.]

[iustaegis]

[ Help.

Help? Help her, when it is the mortals that need help the most in the world, who struggle and toil and die, who among many regard their life as too painful to endure, when that blame is solely upon the Architect and the Trinity because they are the ones who made it? She wants a better world for them, she wants them to exist. She doesn't to not rob them of that chance to lose it, to overcome their pain-- ]

I'm telling you there is no other way! [ She struggles with her words, with controlling her voice, the stress of not being believed. Distress and pain make her tone crack, and her eyes are wet. ] Destroying it.... that function is a part of us!

[carbungle]

You keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything except a possibility unless something forces your hand! Just because something can happen doesn't mean it will. There's so much else you can do with your power... even without it, you help people.

[It's hard to stamp down on his anger, teeth clenching to try and keep his voice restrained. He'd been so distressed for her fate, but stupidly he hadn't bothered to question the source of it before now. He'd imagined the dying world she described, floating continents made of massive creatures, struggling and falling out of the sky, and some elaborate... mystery that required her life to power and salvage that world. Fix the Titans, or give them a land beneath to fall upon safely. He hadn't thought about it, had only thought how awful it was that another world had to be saved through something like that. He'd felt angry at whatever must have directed her towards this fate. How dare they choose her, someone so kind and loving who didn't deserve to die, who could help so many more, who has more power hiding inside her than he could fathom, if this is what she fears it'll do. How dare they.

But... it's her. She's deciding herself, unprompted. So now he can't help feeling angry at her choice instead.]

If you want to live, then live. Fight for it with everything you've got. If your powers are the problem, seal them, not yourself. Save the world by watching over it!

[iustaegis]

[ She flinches as if she's been slapped, and the recoil has her blinking fast and hard until a few tears fall from her cheeks to the grass below. Had it been a mistake to tell him after all? Quickly, she withdraws her hand to wipe at the wetness upon her face, attempting to quell her emotions. How they bother her even now. She feels as if she's being trampled. Observing the world had been all that she did before awakening. Eons and eons of watching the world grow up from dust, waiting for sentient life to begin anew.

She can't help but think she's insulted him and his own circumstance. It's his deities, the powers in his world, that are telling him to die; of course he would be angered at her for deciding this herself.... even if she is one of the powers of her own world.

"--anything except a possibility--"

...It is true. She had never-- she was never brave enough to... ] ....Do you want to see it with us?

The future of our world.

[carbungle]

[Her flinch and withdrawal stings, but he knows he deserves it so he doesn't chase. Rather, he drops his hands to his sides, one between them, both curling in the grass as he feels his frustration swell. He hates this. Life is so much better and easier when the problems in front of him are foes he can battle with a sword in hand, rather than with words. He's too earnest, he'd never been gifted with his father's silver tongue for negotiations or convincing arguments, he lacks Ignis' talent for strategy. His mind is racing, trying to think of what next to do or say. He doesn't know enough, her world has too many mysteries, and she...

...and then she says that, and he's silent for a long moment, brows furrowing. That's right... he'd half-forgotten, but there'd been something about her uncertainty that had bothered him, and now it clicks. Her crystal... she could convey the future to someone. Witnessing his own death and the aftermath had almost shattered him at the time, but ultimately it had been integral in helping him on the path to accepting his fate, coming to terms with what his future was. There was something immensely peaceful about the knowledge that it wasn't a maybe anymore, that if he did it right, the sun would rise again, that it wouldn't be for nothing. It had the potential to give her the same relief, but she'd said...

He focuses back on her, hating the grief in her eyes but needing to confirm.]

...You've never looked, have you.

[iustaegis]

[ Separated now, her hands fold together upon her lap as she closes her eyes, and after a delay, nods her answer: he is correct, she hasn't.

 With the confession made, shame consumes her, and she ends up bowing her head. For all the emotions she has developed within her humanity, the first and strongest with which she had been awakened was an imprint of fear. Addam had already seen the destruction her brother had caused the world, and he had doubts as to controlling a weapon of the Architect. The aftermath only made her own fear grow within, and at the end of battle, that devastation and fear had caused them seal themselves.... if only for a time. ]

We felt there was no need to.

[ She says, at first, but then shakes her head. No, that explanation is not quite right.

So she corrects: ] We were scared.

[carbungle]

[He'd been about to object to the first answer - it did feel wrong immediately - but her follow-up mollifies him. It's a fear he understands. Since his arrival in this world, when Cor told him of Luna's fate, he'd tried to avoid talks of the future. He'd pretended it was to avoid complications, but... he knew it was because he was afraid of it. Of hearing the heartbreak that lay ahead of him. He hadn't wanted to know how much he failed.

And then he'd fallen asleep, and he'd lived it, and... he had felt it over, and over, and over. He'd been left alone and he'd failed every time. The rite. The train, chasing an illusion. Ardyn's gloating revival from what should have been certain death. Gralea. Bahamut's revelation and an empty crystal prison. He'd been alone and he'd hated it. He'll be alone with his ghosts when he dies. The future was lonely, and who would want to witness it on their own?

Remembering all of this is enough to help him decide, though his answer was all but a foregone conclusion already. She'd asked him. Angry as he is, his answer to her will always be yes. He turns towards her, his gaze focused, and he reaches up to touch her shoulder, urging her to look at him.]

Let's do it. We'll do it together- and whatever happens, I'll accept your answer.

[Even if it's bad, even if the future is cruel. He's already learned that not everyone gets a happy ending to their story. But if there's a chance, then- gods, he wants to take it, just in case it lifts that burden from her shoulders. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's her. She's carrying so much sadness already...]