Post-Event Blues

[lucetimods]

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!

Comments

[voidseeing]

[And Gai leans into that touch, allowing his eyes to slide shut. He's exhausted, oh so exhausted, but he doesn't want to fall asleep yet. He came here for her, after all. What good would that do if he's the one who falls asleep first?]

[tearmeanewone]

[Meanwhile, Elizabeth really does want Gai to rest if he can. He scared her half to death with his nearly collapsing on top of her. He needs rest more than she does.]

Sleep, Gai. I'll watch over you.

[voidseeing]

I'm not going to sleep until you promise to get some rest yourself.

[Sorry, Elizabeth. Gai drives a hard bargain when he feels like it, and he knows damn well that she needs the rest as much as he does.]

[tearmeanewone]

I'm resting! Look. [She raises her hands and indicates the bed.] I'm sitting on my bed. That's resting.

[voidseeing]

I meant lying down.

[And he pats the bed next to him to indicate that she should lie down there. Though he won't admit it, he wants the physical contact if he's going to end up falling asleep. His dreams have been... darker than usual as of late.]

[tearmeanewone]

Well you should have been specific. [Elizabeth grins, poking him in the knee.]

[But she relents and lays down in the indicated spot, curling into Gai.] Is this alright?

[voidseeing]

It's perfect.

[He shifts a little to allow this, sliding his non-crystallized arm around her to hold her against him in the most comfortable position he can manage. Even if it's painful to him, he can bear it for her sake. At least the morphine will be good for something...]

[amonglions]

[It probably would have continued to be perfect if Booker hadn't walked in at that exact moment. He hadn't been at the apartment before Gai came over and collapsed into bed with Elizabeth, but he'd come back after they retired therein.

So this was, naturally, a shock. Having never seen hide or tail of this...man in his daughter's bed or ever even heard of him (to his memory)...he was less than happy.]

...

['Course actually saying something was an entirely different matter at this point. He was sort of hoping this was a mental breakdown instead of reality.]

You wanna explain this?

[To Elizabeth]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth was quite happy to be curled up with Gai for some rest. So happy that she's forgotten, oh right, she doesn't live alone. And she's unwell. So it's completely understandable that Booker would check on her.]

[But she still leaps up when Booker speaks, almost standing up completely on her bed.]

OhmyGod, Booker! [Her hands clamp over her mouth briefly. Explain? Explain? What was there to explain? She looks between Gai and Booker--she really didn't want to do this right this second.]

He's... Booker, this is Gai. He came to make sure I was alright after the battle and made himself worse in the process. I brought him in here to rest.

[AND NOTHING ELSE.]

[voidseeing]

[... ah, so this is Booker. Not a complete pushover, from the looks of things, but certainly not much of a threat either. If he weren't in such bad shape, he'd be more than willing to test his luck against this man.

Bad shape or not, though, he's in pain and exhausted and he just had his chance at some nice quiet cuddling interrupted, meaning that he is decidedly cranky and snappier than he would normally be. Which is... probably not a good thing.]

I've heard about you. Elizabeth was just telling me about how you'd react if you came home and found the two of us here like this.

[Yeah, he's tempting fate and at this point he doesn't really care.]

[amonglions]

Well that's nice, because I haven't heard jack about you.

[Booker shouldn't be adapting so successfully to the 'protective father' persona, but after everything that had happened ... well it was probably better he was (so far) concerned and not homicidal.

Still, he knows he left his shotgun under his bed.]

When exactly do you think I was gonna hear about him?

[We're pointedly ignoring the grown man in your bed Elizabeth.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Somehow, watching three or four gunships descend on The Hand of the Prophet was more relaxing than this is right now. Elizabeth hadn't expected all of Booker's reaction to zero in on her--she'd clearly been more worried for Gai than for herself. And isn't that ironic now? Gai is clearly edgy and Booker has always been a bit of a powderkeg. So diffusing the situation is probably falling on her right now.]

Soon...? [Oh that was reassuring. Clearly Elizabeth hasn't entirely shaken that sense of Booker as her father and she can't help the question mark that comes at the end of that intended-to-be-statement.]

[She slides around Gai's legs and off the bed, coming closer to Booker.]

I met him before you or Robert were brought here--and then after you arrived there was so much going on, and then this invasion happened and I thought...

[Elizabeth casts an apologetic look back at Gai. This is going to get intensely personal, and he's more or less immobile for the conversation.] I couldn't figure out if you would think I was abandoning you for him. I didn't know how to tell you that I'd met someone.

[voidseeing]

[Edgy though he may be, Gai is also well aware of the fact that he's pretty much helpless at the moment, and thus provoking Booker too far isn't in his best interest. And he hates it-- he hates being reduced to this, unable even to get up out of the bed to respond to the man directly. Instead, all he can do is lie there and watch and hope that Elizabeth can handle things on her own.

When she looks back at him, he responds with a slight nod, signalling her to go ahead. It's not as if he can do much in this situation, after all, and she's the one who knows Booker, not him. He'll just remain quiet for the time being and let the two of them talk it out... though that's not to say that he won't speak up if he feels it's necessary.]

[amonglions]

[Booker bristles as time passes, it seems to be something completely unaffected by the logic of Elizabeth's pleas for him to understand despite him making a very serious effort to not be a father in this moment.

He tries to tell himself there are worse things, that he's seen worse things and really is it so bad that she has someone?

A part of himself says yes.]

Elizabeth....

[He just...can't find the right words for this. He is not properly equipped for this and he's missed 20 years of prep work. So Booker simply sighs and tries to be as little of a dad as he can possibly manage.

He's still going to have a talk with this kid though.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Alright, so immediate violence wasn't happening. That was a good thing, that was a very positive thing.]

[But at the same time, it doesn't look like Booker is terribly happy with this entire situation. Elizabeth thinks immediately that she's made a mistake, that she should have told Booker and Robert a few days after they'd arrived so this wouldn't happen.]

I mean it, Booker. [Elizabeth closes the distance between them and puts a hand on his elbow, trying to smooth whatever feathers she's ruffled.] I could never, ever push you aside for someone else. You... [She hesitates, wondering if Booker will pull away if she says what she's thinking right now. But not saying what she meant in the first place had caused this whole situation.]

Last week was what I wish my life had been like, I wish you were my father! Even now. [Her fingers shift a little until she's awkwardly pinching Booker's sleeve.] Families care for one another, and you were the first person to show me that kind of caring. I'd never forget that, no matter what happened...

[voidseeing]

[Gai remains quiet, watching this scene with something he recognizes as... envy, almost. He hadn't been particularly close to Tony during what had happened - they'd still butted heads, even under the influence of all of that - yet he finds he can't help but wish that they HAD been closer. Fake family though it had been... it had been a family.

He isn't holding out much hope of continuing that relationship with his "family" from here on out (and he's pretty sure he doesn't want to, because that would just make things weird), but maybe Elizabeth can, if that's what she wants.]

[amonglions]

[He thinks he does very good considering how much he is absolutely aching to tell her she really is his daughter. He knows that it'd be a horrible idea and nothing good would come of it except perhaps having that little conversation out of the picture.

He tells himself that she's a grown woman, her own person and could do a lot worse than feeling sorry about this. There's a flicker of a glance at Gai - he acknowledges you're still here, buster he's just not wanting to talk to you. Yet.

To Elizabeth:]

You remember how t'bust a nose, right?

[He knows that some of the memories are fleeting, some things left while others blended in and remained. He just wants to ask because, at this point this is the closest he can get to cleaning a shotgun in front of the other man in the room.

Hell he might still do that.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth blinks at Booker. She didn't know what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. She can't help but laugh at the very blatant intimidation, mostly because she knows Gai will take it in good humor too.]

[She looks back at Gai with a mischievous grin, then back to Booker.]

I think I remember.

[voidseeing]

She's welcome to test it out if she wants.

[Not that she could land a hit on him if she tried, but Booker doesn't have to know that part, right? Honestly, he's not scared of Booker at all despite the intimidation tactics; he just knows that this is neither the time nor place to pick a fight.]

[amonglions]

[It's a good thing Gai wasn't feeling up for a fight otherwise this little...encounter could have ended much worse for all of them.]

Good.

[He'll grumble about this for a few days but for now? He's just going to leave and have some alone time with Jimmy Walker and his friends.]

I'm gonna go pretend this never happened now.

[Annnnd with that he's taking his leave, because Lord this was the most awkward of evenings.

Booker might (definitely) be waiting for Gai by the front door when he decides to leave. He knows the window is the more viable option but it's more of a test than an actual 'waiting to see you leave' thing.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth watches Booker leave, feeling conflicted. On the one hand, she was hoping Booker wouldn't be upset afterwards--she was hoping Booker would be happy for her. He did seem to be acting awfully protective, but perhaps that was just because he didn't know Gai.]

[But on the other hand, Booker hadn't thrown Gai out of her bed. That was something.]

[She turns back to Gai, giving him a look of hesitant relief and apology. Before going back to the bed, she opens the door to her bedroom wider--as wide as it will go. No hanky panky, no sir.]

And that's Booker DeWitt... [She smiles sheepishly and walks back to the bed.] The man with the key.

[voidseeing]

[Elizabeth isn't the only one who watches him go. There's a soft smile on Gai's face, small enough that she'd have to be looking closely in order to notice it. Booker may be rough around the edges and decidedly on the aggressive side (where Elizabeth is concerned, at least), but despite that, or perhaps because of it, he seems like a good person.

Even if Gai is pretty sure he could kick his ass.]

He really cares about you.

[He didn't pick Gai up and toss him bodily out the door, which he easily could've done in Gai's current condition. That does say something.]

[tearmeanewone]

[But you wouldn't Gai, because then Elizabeth wouldn't ever look at you again. 8|]

[She looks back over her shoulder at the open door and smiles a little.] It wasn't like that in the beginning. It's amazing how close we became in a matter of hours.

[voidseeing]

Just like the two of us, in other words.

[Given how distant Gai usually is, the fact that he fell for her so quickly was really nothing short of remarkable-- not that he's complaining. Now he understands why they refer to it as "falling" in love, because that was pretty much what happened. It was a complete nosedive right in.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth gives a bit of a wincing smile and settles back into bed next to Gai--a little further off, of course, keeping things entirely PG.]

I suppose so. But it's... not like that between me and Booker. ...Obviously, I just said-- yes.

[She gives a small laugh, giving up on over-explaining.] I don't go around trusting just everybody though. You two are different.