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sticksandbones2025-02-01 06:54 pm
diplomaticimmewnity) wrote in sticksandbones2025-02-01 06:54 pm
Entry tags:
- !fammeet,
- !npc: callisto,
- !npc: nene,
- !npc: zahliya,
- adventure time: fern,
- arknights: flamebringer,
- arknights: gnosis,
- arknights: mizuki,
- arknights: sesa,
- arknights: silverash,
- cookie run: affogato cookie,
- cookie run: pure vanilla cookie,
- cookie run: timekeeper cookie,
- cookie run: white lily cookie,
- elsword: chung,
- ensemble stars!!: mayoi ayase,
- final fantasy xvi: clive rosfield,
- final fantasy xvi: joshua rosfield,
- gravity falls: dipper pines,
- gravity falls: stanley pines,
- guilty gear: a.b.a,
- in stars and time: odile,
- original: kiera canorus,
- re:creators: mamika kirameki,
- the world ends with you: shoka,
- trigun: livio,
- trigun: vash,
- trigun: wolfwood,
- twisted wonderland: jade leech
January Town Hall
Who: Town Meeting
What: Town Meeting
When: January
Where: Enciodes' archives
Warnings: Typical Stix game warnings: Child death mentions, physical abuse via Nene, torture, body horror, cannibalism via Callan. More will be in post titles as they come up.
[ Enciodes is incredibly tired, once again. All the same, he still makes the effort to go around and let everyone know about the Town Hall happening again, encouraging you to be there, despite everything. ]
Hello and thank you for coming to our town meeting. To start, these archives are important to me, and as such I will not tolerate any fighting. You will be escorted out.
Secondly, I encourage you all introduce yourselves. Informing us of both your name and your skillset will help us all as a group, as it'll let us know who is here at the Grove and who is best to see for specific situations. This will also help myself, as I intend to keep a headcount and census of everyone here at the Grove, to keep track of who may have gone missing and to direct those who need help in the correct location. I shall begin by introducing myself. I am Enciodes Silverash. I am a diplomat of my world, and here I have taken a role of setting up meetings like this and clearing out the problems that lie with us in the fog wall.
And finally, for the newcomers, I am sorry to have to inform you of the circumstances, but I implore you to come to me for any questions you may have. I want to make this transition for you as easy as I possibly can, and wish to provide you with all the resources and information that we currently have available to us. This may be a bit lengthy, so I understand if you may have questions for clarifications or anything of the like. I do ask that you hold onto these questions until I've finished, however.
This is mostly as it sounds, but we all used to be here at the Grove in one way or another. After horrible events occurred here, Heimr and Ydalir tried to preserve our souls, which lead us to our "current" lives. The ones we all have memories of. Though, it does seem many of us carry the same personalities and other such traits we had while here.
This in no way is an encouragement to learn about your past life, of course. If this makes you uncomfortable or frustrates you in any way, I completely understand. Learning about things you've done back here does not currently seem to help us find our way home, so you are under no obligation to try and find more out about this if you do not want to.
There's still a lot we don't know about him, but that is perhaps for the best. The more we know about him, it's likely the stronger he will become in turn. It's only right we keep this section brief, in that case. If you truly wish to know more about him, I would be willing to answer questions, but understand my hesitance in doing so. That, and also it's likely he can hear us through the people here who are Corrupted by the forest.
He is the entity who got us all here. He wants us to suffer. He feeds on our misery. We won't let him have that satisfaction because we have this second chance. If he couldn't kill us before in a way that sated him, than he'll never get that satisfaction from us because we are resilient. Just be careful when going out into the forest. He can corrupt you, and... if you'd like, you can speak with those who have had first hand experience with it before, but essentially it means he can possess you if we're not careful.
Do not call it by its name. Do not worship it. Do not give it power of any kind. I am no longer going to be understanding to those who give it more than it deserves.
He is afraid of the ocean. Beiwe, his sister, mentions she doesn't believe he's open to listening to reason. She said the best way to fight back against him is simply rejecting him, turning sadness into resolve, and continuing to call him rude names.
Heimr and Ydalir, or the Shopkeeper and the Trader respectively, both lost their previous names to the Forest. Heimr recently became human; maybe there's a way to get Ydalir to be the same? You can say "Aldric" now, but Heimr still prefers to be called Heimr. Please keep this in mind if the Forest ever tries to speak with you. Do not, under any circumstances, give it your name.
Nene is here as well, and very recently purified, but had previously been confined to the Forest's hold for... centuries, it seems. Please be kind to her, as I'm sure I needn't even point out. She is daughter to Grace, who was a doctor here at the Grove. She has a few books in the archives that I've been perusing. She's also apparently the person behind the Garden - a place in the forest that I'll cover shortly.
The Guardians are a group of... demi-deities, as far as we are concerned. Treat them respectfully and give them offerings if you require their assistance or plan to take anything that is theirs. The few we have with us here at the Grove are as follows:
Moder, the forest Guardian, and the large moose-like creature who's seen wandering around. She is incredibly kind even if her appearances may be a bit horrifying. She's helped clean up the northern part of town with me. She's also willing to take people through the forest safely if needed, seeing both as she knows it well, and was also once corrupted, so knows roughly what to expect in there. Considering she's lost her domain to that bastard in the woods, I ask that you give her your tribute as often as you can, as I believe she will be the one to most fiercely fight with us for her home back.
Zahliya, who has many titles I've listed in the notebook, is the gargoyle who is generally on fire. He can burn away any Corruption, and cares about each of us. His powers have not been fully realized, but with some encouragement, that may change, so I ask that everyone please give him your trust.
Sinann, the River Guardian, is the blue, glowing fish within the River. It can speak more now without the use of the Bone ring, but it's still rather weak, likely because it is recovering and has not regained the strength to do so. Please do not remove the bones from the River, and return any fish bones of those you eat to it as well. Shells and medallions are able to be taken freely from it, however.
Callan, the Lake Guardian, is thing that you all may have seen diving into the well when we got back from our time under the ocean. He is... not the kindest, but I don't believe he is malicious or malevolent by any means. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him. The Behemoth is his daughter, and the giant crocodile-like creature you've seen around the Grove. She isn't a Guardian, as far as I'm aware, but it's still recommended you are kind to her as well.
The Cosmic Serpent is in the ocean. For a good majority of the time, they are asleep. They do not seem to be opposed to helping us, but can only offer us so much, and likely may get annoyed if we expect too much of them. Apparently became what they are today by feasting on fallen stars.
There's a Sky Guardian, Aurora, as well, though Moder has informed us that she was long dead. Since then, we have had an effort in reviving her.
The Gods — Beiwe, the Goddess of the Sun, and Ourania, the Goddess of the Moon, are the current overseers. According to Moder, they are very weak and may need some help regaining their strength through prayer and acts of devotion. We likely have the power to help them return to their former strength.. We just need to figure out how. Recently, we've spoken directly to Ourania with a seance, and recently we've done the same with Beiwe. I did not participate personally, so I divert this to those who had, and encourage the information shared. The information we got from Ourania can be asked through Mizuki, if needed.
Zonari, uh, the forest's gargoyle. She's gone missing from the Grove, as of recent. Which lends to the question of why we let her stay here...
Belief in something gives it power. Names give it power. Hence why we don't want to be using names for the forest. It's recommended to swap out the vague reference you use. Vice versa for our Guardians — please use their names, and believe in them intrinsically when we require their assistance. Mizuki has recommended before that we sing to Zahliya when he purifies things. Songs of protection and such might do us some good, I think. Just remember not to wish for things too frequently, only if it's absolutely necessary.
There are shards that seem to hold power of deities inside of them. Sun and Moon shards from Beiwe and Ourania respectively, and star shards from... likely, the stars? Be on a look out for them, as the Forest wants them destroyed. It also leads me to wonder if there are any shards of the entity we may be able to destroy?
We've also learned that the seasons are controlled by spirits, and will lose control of their magic every hundred years and need some sort of "sacrifice" to stabilize them. I have a feeling this is something we'll be needing to concern ourselves with, as it's our luck if we're coming up on this hundred year mark. This is likely something we can confirm with Miss Ydalir.
We have baby dragons who grant certain blessings, as well. Feel free to see them if you'd like.
Aldric's Manor is a place where Heimr's kids are currently. We can't get to it, but the children inside do have a notebook, and we hope they'll try to communicate with us. One of his children… There's a grave outside for her. Do not do anything disrespectful by it.
There's a part of the forest nearby where you might find people you know, but as trees. It's… very upsetting there. Refrain from visiting it too frequently.
The Garden is where you'll end up if you die. Nene brings you back if you do end up here. Do not die. Do not end up here. Coming back will have you giving up something important.
The River is where the River Guardian is. Return any remains of the fish we eat from there back to it after we're able to fish there again. Thank the River Guardian when you take apples from the tree nearby there, and thank Moder when you take berries from the bush near it. Do not take bones from the river without permission. Be kind to the river's inhabitants, and don't dump any trash into the water.
The Well's water will always stay clean. Don't go dumping garbage into it, of course, but know that the water there is safe to drink regardless of what happens, it seems. Also, the well is completely bottomless, so if you can't breathe underwater, I don't recommend trying to swim down it. Mizuki tried to, but at a certain point it felt like something was pushing him back.
The Lake, where Callan used to reside, and Terho's cabin nearby. According to Mizuki, the bottom is littered with bones, so it's likely not a good swimming spot.
North Aldric's Grove and Other Expansions — The Grove, prior to stuff going awry, was a sizeable place, so we're likely to explore more areas as a "reward" for participating in games. The part of the Grove to the north used to be horribly burnt and unlivable - in a perpetual state of fire and decay. We've since fixed the time anomalies there and, with Moder's help, I've managed to get it looking like the rest of the Grove. There are no more sinkholes to be wary of.
The Church was Nene's previous home, and a former place of worship for Beiwe. It has since been worn down and transformed into something to worship the entity of the forest. As such, it's likely we should try to erect a new church for Beiwe - one that is exclusively hers. Especially since we've been able to get into contact with her.
Near the old church, there's also a tree that Renard lies trapped in, found by both Mizuki and Wolfwood. At some point, we have to free him with the magic that resides in the sun, moon, and star shards. Renard is a former friend of Heimr and Ydalir.
The Temple is separate from the Church. Zahliya was formerly a statue guarding this place. It is also where the Creature was previously contained.
In the Lighthouse is a corrupted person who seems very territorial. It's recommended that no one go into the lighthouse or get near it, or they risk being attacked or even killed. There is a statue of Ourania embedded in the cliff face nearby the Lighthouse. Any more questions can be addressed to Vash about this area.
The beach is now accessible thanks to Moder. You may head there with the path she has made without needing help of the goggles. Just stay on the bridge of fallen trees she's made and you'll make it there. In the water are very dangerous creatures, so be mindful. Dipper has also found the evil entity's original temple under the water. Maybe that is partially why it has it's fear of the ocean?
Within the forest are star shrines, which may provide moments of respite while you are out there. Not much is known about them at the moment, besides that star... spirits? guardians? creatures reside there. Hoku, a lion-esque spirit, seems to be the "leader". We don't know what happened to him.
There are other places within the forest and such, but if you want specifics, talk to Mizuki. He has a map.
If you do end up going into the forest, bring a pair of the golden spectacles that Heimr has with you. They will show you a safe-adjacent way into the forest. It won't guarantee safety, but it'll be your best case scenario.
What: Town Meeting
When: January
Where: Enciodes' archives
Warnings: Typical Stix game warnings: Child death mentions, physical abuse via Nene, torture, body horror, cannibalism via Callan. More will be in post titles as they come up.
[ Enciodes is incredibly tired, once again. All the same, he still makes the effort to go around and let everyone know about the Town Hall happening again, encouraging you to be there, despite everything. ]
Hello and thank you for coming to our town meeting. To start, these archives are important to me, and as such I will not tolerate any fighting. You will be escorted out.
Secondly, I encourage you all introduce yourselves. Informing us of both your name and your skillset will help us all as a group, as it'll let us know who is here at the Grove and who is best to see for specific situations. This will also help myself, as I intend to keep a headcount and census of everyone here at the Grove, to keep track of who may have gone missing and to direct those who need help in the correct location. I shall begin by introducing myself. I am Enciodes Silverash. I am a diplomat of my world, and here I have taken a role of setting up meetings like this and clearing out the problems that lie with us in the fog wall.
And finally, for the newcomers, I am sorry to have to inform you of the circumstances, but I implore you to come to me for any questions you may have. I want to make this transition for you as easy as I possibly can, and wish to provide you with all the resources and information that we currently have available to us. This may be a bit lengthy, so I understand if you may have questions for clarifications or anything of the like. I do ask that you hold onto these questions until I've finished, however.
To start with, we lived a previous life we have no real memory of here at the Grove.
This is mostly as it sounds, but we all used to be here at the Grove in one way or another. After horrible events occurred here, Heimr and Ydalir tried to preserve our souls, which lead us to our "current" lives. The ones we all have memories of. Though, it does seem many of us carry the same personalities and other such traits we had while here.
This in no way is an encouragement to learn about your past life, of course. If this makes you uncomfortable or frustrates you in any way, I completely understand. Learning about things you've done back here does not currently seem to help us find our way home, so you are under no obligation to try and find more out about this if you do not want to.
Our enemy here is the entity possessing the forest.
There's still a lot we don't know about him, but that is perhaps for the best. The more we know about him, it's likely the stronger he will become in turn. It's only right we keep this section brief, in that case. If you truly wish to know more about him, I would be willing to answer questions, but understand my hesitance in doing so. That, and also it's likely he can hear us through the people here who are Corrupted by the forest.
He is the entity who got us all here. He wants us to suffer. He feeds on our misery. We won't let him have that satisfaction because we have this second chance. If he couldn't kill us before in a way that sated him, than he'll never get that satisfaction from us because we are resilient. Just be careful when going out into the forest. He can corrupt you, and... if you'd like, you can speak with those who have had first hand experience with it before, but essentially it means he can possess you if we're not careful.
Do not call it by its name. Do not worship it. Do not give it power of any kind. I am no longer going to be understanding to those who give it more than it deserves.
He is afraid of the ocean. Beiwe, his sister, mentions she doesn't believe he's open to listening to reason. She said the best way to fight back against him is simply rejecting him, turning sadness into resolve, and continuing to call him rude names.
And we'll talk about the previous residents here - the ones who didn't have new lives. As well as the deities here.
Heimr and Ydalir, or the Shopkeeper and the Trader respectively, both lost their previous names to the Forest. Heimr recently became human; maybe there's a way to get Ydalir to be the same? You can say "Aldric" now, but Heimr still prefers to be called Heimr. Please keep this in mind if the Forest ever tries to speak with you. Do not, under any circumstances, give it your name.
Nene is here as well, and very recently purified, but had previously been confined to the Forest's hold for... centuries, it seems. Please be kind to her, as I'm sure I needn't even point out. She is daughter to Grace, who was a doctor here at the Grove. She has a few books in the archives that I've been perusing. She's also apparently the person behind the Garden - a place in the forest that I'll cover shortly.
The Guardians are a group of... demi-deities, as far as we are concerned. Treat them respectfully and give them offerings if you require their assistance or plan to take anything that is theirs. The few we have with us here at the Grove are as follows:
Moder, the forest Guardian, and the large moose-like creature who's seen wandering around. She is incredibly kind even if her appearances may be a bit horrifying. She's helped clean up the northern part of town with me. She's also willing to take people through the forest safely if needed, seeing both as she knows it well, and was also once corrupted, so knows roughly what to expect in there. Considering she's lost her domain to that bastard in the woods, I ask that you give her your tribute as often as you can, as I believe she will be the one to most fiercely fight with us for her home back.
Zahliya, who has many titles I've listed in the notebook, is the gargoyle who is generally on fire. He can burn away any Corruption, and cares about each of us. His powers have not been fully realized, but with some encouragement, that may change, so I ask that everyone please give him your trust.
Sinann, the River Guardian, is the blue, glowing fish within the River. It can speak more now without the use of the Bone ring, but it's still rather weak, likely because it is recovering and has not regained the strength to do so. Please do not remove the bones from the River, and return any fish bones of those you eat to it as well. Shells and medallions are able to be taken freely from it, however.
Callan, the Lake Guardian, is thing that you all may have seen diving into the well when we got back from our time under the ocean. He is... not the kindest, but I don't believe he is malicious or malevolent by any means. I'm not entirely sure what to make of him. The Behemoth is his daughter, and the giant crocodile-like creature you've seen around the Grove. She isn't a Guardian, as far as I'm aware, but it's still recommended you are kind to her as well.
The Cosmic Serpent is in the ocean. For a good majority of the time, they are asleep. They do not seem to be opposed to helping us, but can only offer us so much, and likely may get annoyed if we expect too much of them. Apparently became what they are today by feasting on fallen stars.
There's a Sky Guardian, Aurora, as well, though Moder has informed us that she was long dead. Since then, we have had an effort in reviving her.
The Gods — Beiwe, the Goddess of the Sun, and Ourania, the Goddess of the Moon, are the current overseers. According to Moder, they are very weak and may need some help regaining their strength through prayer and acts of devotion. We likely have the power to help them return to their former strength.. We just need to figure out how. Recently, we've spoken directly to Ourania with a seance, and recently we've done the same with Beiwe. I did not participate personally, so I divert this to those who had, and encourage the information shared. The information we got from Ourania can be asked through Mizuki, if needed.
Zonari, uh, the forest's gargoyle. She's gone missing from the Grove, as of recent. Which lends to the question of why we let her stay here...
Magic and belief of this world.
Belief in something gives it power. Names give it power. Hence why we don't want to be using names for the forest. It's recommended to swap out the vague reference you use. Vice versa for our Guardians — please use their names, and believe in them intrinsically when we require their assistance. Mizuki has recommended before that we sing to Zahliya when he purifies things. Songs of protection and such might do us some good, I think. Just remember not to wish for things too frequently, only if it's absolutely necessary.
There are shards that seem to hold power of deities inside of them. Sun and Moon shards from Beiwe and Ourania respectively, and star shards from... likely, the stars? Be on a look out for them, as the Forest wants them destroyed. It also leads me to wonder if there are any shards of the entity we may be able to destroy?
We've also learned that the seasons are controlled by spirits, and will lose control of their magic every hundred years and need some sort of "sacrifice" to stabilize them. I have a feeling this is something we'll be needing to concern ourselves with, as it's our luck if we're coming up on this hundred year mark. This is likely something we can confirm with Miss Ydalir.
We have baby dragons who grant certain blessings, as well. Feel free to see them if you'd like.
Places of interest.
Aldric's Manor is a place where Heimr's kids are currently. We can't get to it, but the children inside do have a notebook, and we hope they'll try to communicate with us. One of his children… There's a grave outside for her. Do not do anything disrespectful by it.
There's a part of the forest nearby where you might find people you know, but as trees. It's… very upsetting there. Refrain from visiting it too frequently.
The Garden is where you'll end up if you die. Nene brings you back if you do end up here. Do not die. Do not end up here. Coming back will have you giving up something important.
The River is where the River Guardian is. Return any remains of the fish we eat from there back to it after we're able to fish there again. Thank the River Guardian when you take apples from the tree nearby there, and thank Moder when you take berries from the bush near it. Do not take bones from the river without permission. Be kind to the river's inhabitants, and don't dump any trash into the water.
The Well's water will always stay clean. Don't go dumping garbage into it, of course, but know that the water there is safe to drink regardless of what happens, it seems. Also, the well is completely bottomless, so if you can't breathe underwater, I don't recommend trying to swim down it. Mizuki tried to, but at a certain point it felt like something was pushing him back.
The Lake, where Callan used to reside, and Terho's cabin nearby. According to Mizuki, the bottom is littered with bones, so it's likely not a good swimming spot.
North Aldric's Grove and Other Expansions — The Grove, prior to stuff going awry, was a sizeable place, so we're likely to explore more areas as a "reward" for participating in games. The part of the Grove to the north used to be horribly burnt and unlivable - in a perpetual state of fire and decay. We've since fixed the time anomalies there and, with Moder's help, I've managed to get it looking like the rest of the Grove. There are no more sinkholes to be wary of.
The Church was Nene's previous home, and a former place of worship for Beiwe. It has since been worn down and transformed into something to worship the entity of the forest. As such, it's likely we should try to erect a new church for Beiwe - one that is exclusively hers. Especially since we've been able to get into contact with her.
Near the old church, there's also a tree that Renard lies trapped in, found by both Mizuki and Wolfwood. At some point, we have to free him with the magic that resides in the sun, moon, and star shards. Renard is a former friend of Heimr and Ydalir.
The Temple is separate from the Church. Zahliya was formerly a statue guarding this place. It is also where the Creature was previously contained.
In the Lighthouse is a corrupted person who seems very territorial. It's recommended that no one go into the lighthouse or get near it, or they risk being attacked or even killed. There is a statue of Ourania embedded in the cliff face nearby the Lighthouse. Any more questions can be addressed to Vash about this area.
The beach is now accessible thanks to Moder. You may head there with the path she has made without needing help of the goggles. Just stay on the bridge of fallen trees she's made and you'll make it there. In the water are very dangerous creatures, so be mindful. Dipper has also found the evil entity's original temple under the water. Maybe that is partially why it has it's fear of the ocean?
Within the forest are star shrines, which may provide moments of respite while you are out there. Not much is known about them at the moment, besides that star... spirits? guardians? creatures reside there. Hoku, a lion-esque spirit, seems to be the "leader". We don't know what happened to him.
There are other places within the forest and such, but if you want specifics, talk to Mizuki. He has a map.
If you do end up going into the forest, bring a pair of the golden spectacles that Heimr has with you. They will show you a safe-adjacent way into the forest. It won't guarantee safety, but it'll be your best case scenario.
no subject
Uuuuuuuugh fuck A.B.A was right, they really are the same fucking guy.
Flamebringer has burnt out the last of his cigarette, and pulls out another. This one gets lit with the spark at the end of his fingertip this time.]
That shit never works out. This isn't me pulling stuff out of my ass this time, either. It's...
[Ugh.]
Like where you're from, Kazdel is an ununited shithole of a place. Right now, it's ruled by a megalomaniac kind of like this Knives guy — Theresis. He's one of those fuckers who wants to wipe out the rest of the world in the name of the Sarkaz. And yeah, other people came to our doors first, spent the last thousand years Infecting us on purpose, destroying our city, making sure we didn't have access to necessities, shit like that. Hundreds of years ago, the Sarkaz rebuilt Kazdel's walls, and three days later, Kazimierz knocked them back down. So I get it, I do — part of me wants them all dead too.
[It's hard not to, when the voices of the dead are yapping in his ears.]
The thing is, half the problems Kazdel has genuinely comes from inside. The other ruler, Theresa, his twin sister — she was the one who wanted a peaceable solution with everyone. And a lot of us who were tired of being enslaved, or beaten down, or having to choose between feeding ourselves or feeding the rest of our families, we believed in her.
Anyway, the twins fought — offhandedly, because Theresis is a coward who couldn't kill his own sister. He hired someone to assassinate her instead, and threw Kazdel back into a civil war because of it. Those of us who wanted peace were scorned, and those who wanted every other race on Terra to be wiped out were back in the winning seat.
[...]
I know she loved him. Vash and this Knives dude make me think of them. But if Knives is like Theresis, the only way out is gonna be to kill him before he kills Vash, at least in my mind.
You know that, don't you?
no subject
...fuck. You sure you ain't just fuckin' with me and you're actually from my world?
[Like. He wouldn't be surprised if No Man's Land had cancer rocks and they just haven't unearthed them yet.
But he falls quiet at the end of Flamebringer's explanation, because his words sit heavy like a rock in the pit of his stomach.]
...I know. I do.
[But Vash doesn't want to accept it, even though he knows that he knows deep in his heart it's going to be the only way.]
But let's say Theresa didn't die. Let's say Theresis died instead. Assassinated, died of old age, fell off a balcony, whatever. Would it have been any easier?
[He ashes his cigarette again.]
I ain't sayin' it'd be worse. But...from what you're sayin', it sounds like you'd still have a fuckin' time on your hands.
no subject
[And sometimes, the snow over the dead trees in the forest looks beautiful, he has to say. Sometimes the snow makes him think, there's life out here, even though there really isn't.]
...heh. Yeah, Theresis' loyalists would've kept that civil war going. People would still hate Kazdel, and the Sarkaz. The Lateran Pope would've still tried to hide the origin of the Sankta to keep them against us, and every country on the planet still would've tried to delete us off the face of Terra. Nothing would've changed, other than the fact Theresis wouldn't have led the military to attempt to take over Victoria.
[Victoria would've had its own shit going on whether Theresis got involved or not, though.]
There aren't victors in war. There are only survivors and the dead. Only the strong survive, whether that's on the theoretical "winning" or "losing" side — doesn't matter. Theresa "lost" the war, but her loyalists survived if they were strong enough. Theresis "won" the war, but the weakest of his loyalists are already six feet under.
Vash or Knives could "win" the war, but in the end, it only matters who survives. That make sense?
no subject
[Never in his life, not even once. Now, he sees so much of it he wonders sometimes what it was like to live not being cold half the time.
This time, when Flamebringer smirks at him, Wolfwood doesn't roll his eyes. He smiles back, albeit faintly since the subject matter is so damn heavy.]
...yeah. It does. Only problem is that both Vash and Knives will outlive every human on the planet ten to one. You know Vash is like, 150 years old or some shit, right?
[And yet, he looks like he's barely in his twenties.]
They've got time on their hands. Time, strength...and the ability to commune with the literal lifeblood of the planet. It's a fucked if you do, fucked if you don't kinda situation.
[He takes another puff from his cigarette, sighing for what feels like the hundredth time.]
As shitty as this place is, I don't always hate the reprieve it's given me. Kinda fucked up, that.
no subject
Theresis is about 200, I think. Sarkaz live for a long-ass time, too — if they're not Infected, anyhow.
[Haha... ha....]
...but I get it. Kazdel is a shithole. Run-down, with bodies in the streets some days, blood in the drinking water, that sort of thing. Barely anyone can read, no one goes to school, and if you're not military or a slave owner, you're probably starving to death. But...
It's ours. It's all we've had since we were Teekaz. It's the only place where no one looks at us and calls us "demons" or kills us for being ourselves. There's joy in the chaos there — kids running through the streets bringing coins to vendors to get candy, artists painting couple's portraits, people playing card games when the sun's out... I don't know. I hate what Theresis has made it into.
no subject
That, he can fucking respect.]
Where you live is what you make of it, even if it's a shithole. It's a shithole, but it's your fuckin' shithole. Nobody else should get to decide that.
[He breathes out another stream of smoke, and with it shortens his lifespan just a few moments more just for another hit.]
The orphanage where I grew up is called "Hopeland". For the kids there, it's all they got. ...it's all I had. And when I was a kid, I thought the name was stupid because nothin' about our lives felt hopeful. I was...shitty, and bitter, and angry a lot of the time. Now I think I kinda get it more.
Our lives were bad, and we didn't really have anythin' to be hopeful for, but that ain't no reason to not respect the place.