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

[endgames]

Suit yourself.

[Shikamaru averts his eyes and draws up a knee part way, making it a table for the ice cream cup. Both actions are abrupt; forced casual.]

[generalflirt]

[He makes some noise of agreement, frowning a little. He just ends up... staring at the far wall]

[endgames]

[Shikamaru lets it go on for a time, eating his ice cream (possibly dishing a few more spoonfuls for Linda, if she finishes and wants more even if it's not her favorite). Truth be told, he's waiting for Masaomi to say something first. Eying the clock on the wall, he decides to give him five minutes.]

[generalflirt]

[Like he knows what to say here? Honestly, he's sort of at a loss, which is why he stares at the wall unsure where to go with things. Linda, for her part, gives appreciation for the ice cream, but mostly has ended up looking between the two]

[endgames]

[He didn't think anything would come of it. Had hoped, because more than anything right now he wants some flavor of normalcy. But in some ways, it's like shogi. You can't expect a lance to move sideways.]

So. [He swallows another spoon of ice cream, thinking his words over.] How long should I expect you'll be avoiding me?

[generalflirt]

Who's avoiding? We haven't even been one day out. [He sighs between his teeth here, not quite sure how to answer that one so he just stays loopy]

[endgames]

[He shrugs, and tells himself he doesn't mind. For the most part, it's true.]

When we're together, you usually act like I'm here. for one.

[generalflirt]

Are you needling, now?

[And he frowns some more, turning his gaze to him]

[endgames]

[He's been seeing it all over, even when he tries not to. That feeling like he's being looked down on.

His mouth tightens, but he disregards it. Turns the spoon around in the cardboard cup. It's starting to melt some.]

I don't care if you need time. I just want a plan for what to do, to not make things worse.

[generalflirt]

I'm not great with plans. [A beat and] ...I don't, yeah.

[endgames]

[Don't need more time? He raises an eyebrow at that, disbelieving, even if he doesn't voice it.]

It'd be my own game plan, anyways.

[generalflirt]

Everyone probably will be, after this one.

[endgames]

[He waits for extrapolation on that vaguely defined comment, and stirs the ice cream more.]

[generalflirt]

Well I mean, everyone had their own life and problems, and everyone has their own now, too.

[endgames]

Not that any of them will act like it.

[generalflirt]

Oh, I doubt that one.

[endgames]

People rarely talk about these things unless they're getting sappy on the journals.

[If people aren't playing it normal, he expects more runners.]

[generalflirt]

I feel like everyone goes through these things, and they talk it out with the relevant party. People are so open with their emotions here, it's silly.

[endgames]

[...well. He'd agree with the latter.]

It's usually not worth talking about, unless it was serious enough to warrant it.

[generalflirt]

Aren't you contradicting yourself?

[endgames]

No. That's the 'rarely' chunk of it.

[generalflirt]

But the implication there is people ought to talk.

[endgames]

[...maybe it is? He rubs at his temple, feeling like he's confusing himself.]

When it's important, yeah. You should always rely on the people around you. But there's a lot that people should have the sense to figure out for themselves. The problems of that world are its problems, not ours.

[generalflirt]

Eeeeh, can you really call that a "world?" In the end, it was some sort of hostile takeover.

[endgames]

[Anything gentle drains right out of his voice.]

I can and I will. Cultists or not, it wasn't me.