lucetilogs | Post-Event Blues

Who: Everybody, everybody!
What: The battle is won. Now what?
When: The eleventh, twelfth, and onward
Where: Luceti
Summary: With Zompano dead and the cultists routed, Luceti is restored. Kind of.
Rating: F for Feels

On the eleventh, things were slowly breaking down. Memories of their true lives were breaking through. The village, scarred by the battle with the cultists, began to rebuild itself. Community buildings that had vanished were returned to their rightful places. The battle dome was uncovered from the earth that had covered it. Hundreds and hundreds of fake homes slowly faded away. Paved roads gave way to trees and grass. It was an incredible sight for anyone who was willing to sit aroun and watch it happen.

Things wouldn't be easy for the villagers, though. The memories perpetuated by the last ten days would not be easily removed. The feelings and hatreds it had created would take time to conquer and remove. Perhaps, in a way, that was Zompano's nastiest trick of all. The village itself may heal from his invasion, but it would take far more than a few Shifts to fix the people left behind.

Towards the end of the day, their wings returned. Much like some of the buildings, they seemed to just reappear, as if they had never been gone. Their barcodes became visible again as a singular reminder that they were, ultimately, just the property of another entity who as a whole were not much better than Count Zompano.

By the twelfth, the village looked as though nothing had ever happened. Sure, the contents of buildings might have been messed up or destroyed during the battles, but things were otherwise as they were supposed to be. The night before, people would have had to find their old beds to go sleep in, as they no longer possessed the old ones granted to them in another life.

The village was peaceful.

Modly Note: That wraps up the event. As noted in the prose above, you have the option to play up the after effects of the event more than in other ones. While it won't have the same impact universally, the Shift was constructed in such a way that people may have difficulty shaking off the emotions they developed during the event. In effect, it was a cruel send off to Luceti so they would have to deal with the loathing and hatred that came with the less desirable parts of it. Of course, that means the feelings of familial bonds will also persist for awhile as well. It's up to you, as players, to decide how much or little to play with it!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Tony rolled the word over in his mind, the tense that made all the difference. He was torn between saying something cruel and sarcastic, because it would be so easy and so justified. Loki saw him as his brother? Oh, that was rich. Just so rich, and he can't do this now.

So instead, he laughed.

And once he started, he couldn't stop himself. There was just something so perfectly poetic about everything that had happened to him, everything he remembered and everything he didn't, and how entirely screwed up he - everything- was. Goddamn Luceti. Goddammit, it's just hysterical.

Loki smiled crookedly, and even laughed himself, a little bit. That wasn't quite the reaction he'd been expecting. At this point, anything unexpected was good. "Blame yourself," he added after a moment. "You were once a horrifyingly cute child."

Then he rose to his feet. Now seemed a decent time to make good his escape.

He could barely quiet himself to stop him. He's so screwed up. He's crazy. The universe is just one, shitty joke and he's the butt of it.

"I need you to do a favor for me."

Ah. Here it came. "Hm?"

But Loki wouldn't get the words of rejection he was expecting. Tony considered it, but decided against it, and felt all the more screwed up for it.

"Don't let Rogue cave in on herself. You can't. This wasn't her fault."

Loki slowly sank down to sit again on the edge of Tony's bed, his smile fading into a look of genuine, pensive worry. "I'm doing my best. She's... I don't know, Tony. I've never seen her in such a state." For a moment he covered his face with his hands.

He wasn't well-practiced at caring about other people, not any more. It was exhausting, and stressful, and he didn't quite understand how to deal with a situation where he couldn't win, couldn't just fix it, or couldn't manipulate the situation.

"I think... she'll be a bit better when I tell her you're up and around and talking. I'll try to get her to come see you." He could assume Tony wouldn't say no to that, not if he was asking about Rogue. "But..."

I'm afraid. For someone else.

He modulated that sentiment. "I'm worried."

Tony didn't know how to address Loki's worry - couldn't address it, and he packed it up as another thing to be dealt with later. Better save it for a time when he didn't feel like he was losing the threads of his sanity. When he wasn't recovering from brain trauma.

"I need to see her." He was still so vague on what had happened. He only knew Rogue was involved, and on that fact alone, he needed to see her.

Loki considered that first, the question of what was best for Rogue. Whatever he might want from Tony, whatever foolish hope he might have, the man was secondary. But, he thought, it would do Rogue good to see Tony awake and mending.

But the urgency of Tony's tone concerned him. He gave the man a piercing look. "Why?"

He shook his head, closing his eyes. "I just do."

Loki frowned. "Rogue is important to me. You know that. And she is not doing as well as I would like. Do you understand why I would want a better answer than that?"

He had little doubt he'd be trying to get Rogue here anyway, but it left him feeling very uncomfortable.

But the thing was, Tony didn't have a better answer to give. His awareness was still a jigsawed mess, and this most recent development wasn't helping anything. He couldn't put into words why; he just knew he needed to.

"I just do," he repeated.

Loki fell silent as he consisted this. "Are you going to hurt her?" he asked.

Recent declaration of filial feelings or no, he would not react well to that.

"Don't be an idiot." Even in his state, Tony knew Rogue would be punishing herself more than enough for - whatever this was.

Loki snorted. "If you sat in my place, you would ask too."

But he nodded. "I'll do what I can. I think it'd help her. And... I shall likely be there at the beginning of your meeting. So that she can touch you."

That might help her too, he thought. Let her give the man a hug. It didn't bother him at the moment, because at least temporarily he and Tony were not entirely at odds.

Touch - the word attaches to his mind like stickler, and he recalled, that's right, Rogue couldn't touch him.

Touch touch touch.

Tony settled back against his pillow. He couldn't say thank you. There was so little he could say. So an "okay" was all Loki got in return.

The lack of a thank you did not go unnoticed. Typical, he thought bitterly. There it is, already.

There was a certain tightness to his expression, at the corners of his eyes and lips, as he silently rose to his feet again. He turned to go without saying anything else.

Post-Event Blues

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject