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

[alloys]

It isn't nothing. [ It's easy to agree to. ] But it isn't much.

[endgames]

That's because you're not thinking of everything else you remember. [A smirk.] I thought I told you to relax.

[alloys]

I am relaxed. Look - too exhausted to even sit up all the way. I'm as relaxed as I'll ever be.

[endgames]

In your head, you twit. [But he could stand to be more helpful.] Here, I'll help. Memories aren't big, like boulders, they're small. A handful of pebbles, that make up something bigger.

[Metaphors probably aren't good at a time like this, huh? He bows his head, and hopes that made a fraction of sense.]

Try thinking back to something small first. A color, or a noise. The last thing you ate, maybe.

[alloys]

[ Eating felt like weeks ago, even if realistically, he knew that wasn't true. But there was something. Something in the middle of everything that didn't make sense that he latched onto. ]

It smelled like coffee.

[endgames]

[More than any of the other senses, smells are strongly tied to memory. It doesn't surprise him that that came first.]

Fresh?

[If it's fresh, it would be a strong smell. There'd also be someone who made the coffee. It opens a whole window to circumstances, really.]

[alloys]

Fresh. [ But that didn't tell him much. He had coffee all the time. All the time. ]

[endgames]

Okay. [Rather than voice his earlier thoughts, he thinks he'll try to direct Tony on a different angle. Small things first.] So a morning cup of coffee.

[Routines will be easier to remember anyways. Tony will correct him if that doesn't sound right.]

[alloys]

...Not sure. I sorta drink coffee whenever the hell I want to. [ He pauses, trying to track down the scent memory again. ] I think it was, though.

[endgames]

What makes you say that?

[alloys]

Gut feeling. [ Honestly, that's all he's got. ]

[endgames]

All right. I can trust a gut feeling.

[alloys]

[ He lifts a shoulder. ] That's all I've got. That's the whole memory.

[endgames]

Mm. Give yourself some credit. That's not bad for someone who would've lost to a carrot yesterday, in a contest of interesting conversation.

[alloys]

Have you ever tried talking to a carrot? I'm sure they've...got lots to say.

[endgames]

[It sounds like he's getting tired again. Shikamaru reaches into a pocket and fumbles around for something.]

More interesting than a billionaire playboy philanthropist? Jeez. Maybe I should ditch you to hang out in a garden.

[alloys]

[ Tired he is indeed. But Tony attempts to hang onto the thread of conversation. ]

You forgot 'genius'.

[endgames]

That's because I'm smarter than you.

[Finding what he was looking for - a marker - he reaches over to tug at an elbow.]

Gimme your arm for a sec.

[alloys]

That's...bananas.

[ Where was banana girl? He hasn't seen her for awhile. That's a shame.

Tony holds out his arm. ]

[endgames]

That's all the reaction I get?

[He says it jokingly, but only for the pretense of keeping this upbeat. Shikamaru's purposefully been pushing buttons not just for the sake of normality - the old normality - but to get a rise out of him. Because things just aren't right, if you can't Tony's ego to burst in.

Still feeling too shitty for that, huh... It's not like he expected different, even when he saw him awake. Maybe it just didn't feel right not to try.

Shikamaru uncaps the marker, and adjusts Tony's arm at the wrist. Either way, he feels bad leaving. Tony's in for a long recovery, he assumes, and as his friend he should probably be there for that. Maybe he should stay...

He feels something clench within him, something weak and soft and afraid, and holds his breath to keep from saying anything. Rigidly, he takes the pen to the back of Tony's arm, writing close to the wrist-line.

To stay in Luceti would be a very bad idea.]

[alloys]

[ He tries to focus on what Shikamaru is writing, but he can't quite get himself to concentrate. He smells coffee. The sensation is nearly overwhelming. The feeling of the marker tip against his skin is only secondary. ]

...Better not be permanent.

[endgames]

[He jolts, the marker sliding just a little, but not enough that he can't save the letter. That letter 'C' will just look funny.]

Sorry. I need something that'll stay legible through the sponge baths they're giving you.

[alloys]

As long as Pepper's the one giving them, I won't complain.

[ He can't keep his eyes open anymore. ]

[endgames]

[He finishes up what he was writing, though it took two lines for it.

you remembered coffee and you remembered it was in the morning think more about that

and work on having more interesting things to say than a carrot

He sets Tony's arm back down on the bed, and caps the pen.]

I should probably get going now. I have other things to take care of, before I leave.

[alloys]

[ Though his eyes remain closed, his brow furrows at that. ]

Leaving where? [ It didn't sound like he just meant the hospital. ]