(no subject)

[abandon_hope]

WHO: Lily + vistors!!
WHERE: it's the Lily barn!
WHEN: Postgame, morning of 75

[ WHEW LILY it sure has been a busy week! We have a lot of things to talk about!!

which is to say, we probably have assorted pillows and blankets piled into our new basement living room, with breakfast happening in the kitchen and jellyfish hangin' around elsewhere. and our assorted? fish related prizes??? ]

Comments

[abandon_hope]

[ Kevin is still mcfuckin exhausted and also blind so you know what. He's made a small nest of blankets over here in the corner of one of the couches, albeit with his head very much poking out and enough of a cavern inside the blankets that he's not being squished in by them.

He has one of the memory coins they won and is now turning it over in his fingers carefully. hard to tell what he's looking at when he can't see. ]

What even is this?

[spinebuddyandme]

[ sitting on the other end of the couch ]

It's a memory coin. Most rituals give them out to winners.

[abandon_hope]

Ananke?

[ he's pretty sure, given the tone, but not being able to see expressions is a HUGE pain. ]

What's a memory coin do?

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Nods

and makes a face when he catches himself ]

Yeah, it's me. It, uh. You throw it into the fountain in the middle of town, and it'll play one of your memories on the surface of the water.

[abandon_hope]

[ yeah your nods do nothing right now.

Kevin frowns instinctively, still turning the coin over in his hands. ]

What happens if you throw it in while you remember everything?

[spinebuddyandme]

I think it still plays a memory, but it can be from any point in your life. I don't know if it's random or not... Styx used them sometimes, so Minuet might know if he got to pick what got shown or not.

[abandon_hope]

[ urgh. that's a different problem. Kevin makes a face. ]

Who's Styx?

[spinebuddyandme]

One of our old teammates. He, uh, left a little while ago.

[abandon_hope]

Oh.

[ That sounds suspiciously like a euphemism. ]

What happens to people when they leave?

[spinebuddyandme]

A lot of them get sent back home to the same point in time they were taken from. And some of them pull a Sleeping Beauty and just...stay asleep.

[abandon_hope]

... So he's home? Safe? Or is he asleep here?

[spinebuddyandme]

...He's asleep. And he's safe! Just...y'know, here.

[abandon_hope]

[ okay this is a new twist ]

Can I s - [ oops, wrong word ] - visit him?

[spinebuddyandme]

I don't think there's really a way to visit it. When you fall asleep like that, a bunch of sheep show up and carry you off to wherever Blossom keeps the sleepers.

[abandon_hope]

.......

I mean, that's better than him just lying around in a bedroom or something, but ...

[spinebuddyandme]

I know how it sounds. I don't really like it either, but we haven't been able to do anything about it.

[abandon_hope]

Right. I guess not.

[ He keeps fumbling with the coin, soothed by having sensation to focus on. ]

How are you and Scarab doing?

1/2

[spinebuddyandme]

Oh, we're...better. I think. Apparently he's got this drone body that Charon suggested he use—

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Said drone pipes up from somewhere across the room, speaking in a tinny, DaftPunkian voice ]

CHARON: ADVISED MENTAL SEPARATION: DESIRABLE. THEREFORE: [SELF] WILL INHABIT [DRONE] UNTIL RITUAL EFFECT HAS RESOLVED.

[abandon_hope]

[ oh. oh no. he wishes he could see this? Kevin can't help but crack a smile. ]

You sound like you're tiny, Scarab.

[spinebuddyandme]

[ Tragically, Kevin is also missing the annoyed looks Ananke is giving the little bug bot ]

YOUR ASSESSMENT: ACCURATE. THIS MODEL WAS CONSTRUCTED BY: PEONY SHEPHERD. SUPPLIES WERE LIMITED. THEREFORE: SIGNFICIANT SIZE REDUCTION.

[abandon_hope]

Aides made you?

[ even more delighted tbh. He hesitates, then extends a hand vaguely in Scarab's direction. come here for pets? ]

I'm still waiting for my height to come in too.

[spinebuddyandme]

NEGATIVE. AIDES CONSTRUCTED: DRONE. [SELF] WAS CONSTRUCTED BY [THE REACH]. [SELF] CAPABLE OF INTERFACE WITH: DRONE.

[ There's a faint buzzing sound, a little mechanical if he listens very closely. The drone fits comfortably in the palm of his hand, settling down with a faint mechanical hiss when it lands ]

[abandon_hope]

[ What a good lil bug. Kevin holds his hand still, then, and very gently lifts his other hand to feel the shape of the drone's body. Maybe a little light petting too. ]

Right, sorry. That's what I meant. You told me about the Reach.

[ He tilts his head a little back in Ananke's direction to include him in the conversation. ]

I'd ask how you two met, but ... I guess you can't tell me that right now.

[spinebuddyandme]

[ His little wings flit out once or twice to adjust before he seems content. If Kevin's at all familiar, the drone feels remarkably like a scarab beetle ]

SUSPECT: NEITHER OF US RECALL.

[ Ananke rolls his eyes and shrugs ]

Yeah, I don't remember anything about him from before today. Maybe we can tell you when whatever this is wears off.