"Well... I can think on my feet if I need to," a pause. "Foot. I just feel happier having those backup plans in place. But even I know that's not always possible here."
He flashes a wide grin, tapping the side of his head.
"That's why I've been watching people to see if they have any ill effects first."
Also because swallowing a shitton of sea water had made him queasy, but mostly that first thing.
"Someone remembers his lessons from the nightmare," she said, grinning more broadly and winking over at him while giving him a thumbs up. "Never trust the food. You know, if that actually does finally improve? We're probably going to take a long time to believe it." She probably wouldn't ever truly believe it after the last three years of her life.
"Caution may be one of the most powerful tools. Observe and wait before moving."
"Pretty hard to forget those... given it was remember them or...uh... die. Not much of an option when you really think about it. "
At least he's grinning too. You learn to be able to laugh about the horrible gut-wrenching trauma you've gone through or... well, things are just gonna get real bad for you down the line.
"That's probably it. I mean... I'm not always the best at holding back, but I think when it comes to probably drugged food, it just makes sense."
"Survival instincts to live and die by," she agreed. She couldn't help but find a bit of humor in it. Most of the time, those had been minor issues compared to everything else. But still, it was good to be careful with food.
"Mmmm. When it comes to many things, a steady gaze and a little bit of care can do wonders. Really, leaping in without knowing what we're dealing with is how we get into trouble, after all... not that I'm a great one to talk when it comes to staying out of trouble."
"That's one way of putting it," he chuckles a little. "At least we're in good company. With that whole failing to look before we leap thing. Still, I guess if we were good at that, none of us would have stepped right through into that door into the unknown, right?"
"In fairness, we were out of options. The nightmare was ending, and I was wisping away to nothin..." She paused as she said it, eyes widening, as if she was remembering that, looking down at her hands. "Oh. I ... I think I remember that. I didn't leave until Luz and I were almost too late. There was a young waste there, at the lip of that rotten hole in the ground. It was leave, or fade away."
"That was the problem. It was...well that or probably permanent death. Maybe even worse? Who knows what happens if you're still in a dream when it completely collapses. Probably nothing good."
The mention of the waste puts some tension in his shoulders. He's still carrying a lot with seeing his father- knowing the wastes were other versions of people they knew and cared about- that most of them were dead now... it's a deeply unpleasant piece of knowledge to carry around.
"Me and Fern stuck around a while- it was towards the end of July that we went through- we hung out on a beach for a while, catching up with people before heading for the sea."
"Not much of a choice, especially when I wasn't ready to go just yet." She smirked to herself. "So, we leaped, and here we are."
"I think Luz and I were bringing up the rear. It was just the two of us when we got to the flowers and the beach. There was nobody left, but I'm glad I waited. Some people needed a little help before they finally got underway."
"The town, what little remained, was beginning to fade away. Like the rotting corpse that the nightmare resided within, it was simply decaying. There was barely anything alive. Only two of the monsters remained within the tunnels leading to the door, and that pathetic thing died quickly enough." She made a face. Lickers. Ugh.
"But as it started to fade, we were on our way. The one or two wastes on their way out were insistent we go. We did not see the end."
"...Well, that's both better and also worse than I imagined and I really shouldn't be surprised that's the case, but here I am."
He thought Deerington wouldn't go gentle into that dark night- to hear it...rotted away is, what? Disapointing? Cofmorting? He's not sure.
"I don't think you'd be standing here if you did, honestly. It sounds like it was very...final. Chances are the final pieces of the dream holding that door open would have collapsed and taken you both with it."
"Chances are very much that you're right. And while I wanted to remain as long as possible, I was not willing to fade away with her." She sighed. "Whatever my feelings, there was I suppose a limit to how much I was willing to give up in her memory."
"That's...fair," hard, but fair. "I think you've gotta look at it is how much you're willing to give up for someone who's already mostly a ghost. Better to...uh, stick with the living."
"I admit... one of the hardest realizations I ever had in that place was the moment I looked upon her and realized that the nightmare was just the last glimmers of the power of a poor girl who'd never done anything wrong. I... I could never fault any of you for your choices in how you tried to help her. Whatever actually happened, most of you actually did want that poor girl to have peace." She sighed as she said it, resting her forehead on her hand and smiling sadly at him.
"We did what we could for her, Varian. I will carry her memory in my heart, but now... I am sure of one thing. She wanted us to continue on, and I will do that."
(OOC: I know I'm wrapping up some stuff, but I feel like this one has a couple tags left in it, to finish the thought. They're sort of at an important conversational point re: Julia here. I'll continue this as long as you like, teef.)
"Yeah, that was...difficult," he exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maul was upset about that. Choosing to put her out of her misery. But all she was at that point was a ghost. It was like she was suffering and badly, letting her carry on felt... crueller. Like- like we were forcing her to stay in the cage everyone else had put her in."
He'd thought the answer on how to deal with Julia had been simple. Everything they'd learned about her to that point had suggested she was a suffering child- and that last memory.
"I think we chose wrong, but I don't think there was a right choice, either," which is about par for the course for them really, no winning allowed. "But you're right. She'd...want that from us."
[[ooc: It's allll good! We can keep this bad boy goin']]
"You did not choose wrongly. You made a choice, and it came with a consequence. It may not have been the result that you wanted, but that did not make your choice wrong. I do not believe that there was a 'right choice' in that situation." There was a pause and then she smiled sadly. "Other than sparing Doug. He never did anything to deserve harm. It was not an easy choice, and though Maul and I saw eye to eye on our wish, I think... I have learned that it is better to think the best of each of you in this. None of us could have known if our choice would have had the result that we wanted."
And honestly? Had her choices been made by everyone? The result might not have been nearly as good as she thought they would have. "So I think you are correct, that there was never a truly right choice. That poor girl was dead before we even knew her. I wish I could have known her in life. I will hope for her to have a chance at rebirth one day, a new hope."
"I don't know, Vira, I think dooming a child's soul to a monstrous existence in the waking world is a pretty solid 'wrong choice'," he says with a tired, wan smile. "But you're right, none of us knew this would happen. If we did, most of us probably would have picked differently."
A pause.
"Except for Doug. Only the worst person alive ever would have chosen to hurt Doug."
That, at least, is a universal fact amongst Sleepers. Doug is good people.
"But...yeah, it really sucks, but by the time any of us got to the dream it was already too late. And it's not like any of us could go back and change that."
She sighed sadly. "I... don't think we doomed her quite to that. I think she simply... died." But she wasn't entirely sure there. That last conversation had been unclear. Time would tell, or it wouldn't. "And such is the way of hindsight."
A nod. Look, even Larxene hadn't broken his egg. That was saying something. "Doug... is a good soul, and I hope he's here somewhere. For all the pain we endured, he was a kind hearted one, wasn't he?"
"I guess we shouldn't have expected any different, Deerington has always been...well, what it was," he smiles, nodding. "Me too. I really hope he's happy here. That he's got his dogs."
"We should look around to see if he's in town sometime soon," she said. "Perhaps we can make sure this Trench is ... awful but not as awful." Or at least make the town an oasis in the awful. That seemed more likely.
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countryclub2021-08-09 05:25 pm
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He flashes a wide grin, tapping the side of his head.
"That's why I've been watching people to see if they have any ill effects first."
Also because swallowing a shitton of sea water had made him queasy, but mostly that first thing.
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"Caution may be one of the most powerful tools. Observe and wait before moving."
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At least he's grinning too. You learn to be able to laugh about the horrible gut-wrenching trauma you've gone through or... well, things are just gonna get real bad for you down the line.
"That's probably it. I mean... I'm not always the best at holding back, but I think when it comes to probably drugged food, it just makes sense."
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"Mmmm. When it comes to many things, a steady gaze and a little bit of care can do wonders. Really, leaping in without knowing what we're dealing with is how we get into trouble, after all... not that I'm a great one to talk when it comes to staying out of trouble."
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"When did you cross through?"
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The mention of the waste puts some tension in his shoulders. He's still carrying a lot with seeing his father- knowing the wastes were other versions of people they knew and cared about- that most of them were dead now... it's a deeply unpleasant piece of knowledge to carry around.
"Me and Fern stuck around a while- it was towards the end of July that we went through- we hung out on a beach for a while, catching up with people before heading for the sea."
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"I think Luz and I were bringing up the rear. It was just the two of us when we got to the flowers and the beach. There was nobody left, but I'm glad I waited. Some people needed a little help before they finally got underway."
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It meant both of them got through safe which meant a lot.
"How bad was it? The town I mean? Did you see it collapse? Or...I guess as close to it as you could safely?"
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"But as it started to fade, we were on our way. The one or two wastes on their way out were insistent we go. We did not see the end."
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He thought Deerington wouldn't go gentle into that dark night- to hear it...rotted away is, what? Disapointing? Cofmorting? He's not sure.
"I don't think you'd be standing here if you did, honestly. It sounds like it was very...final. Chances are the final pieces of the dream holding that door open would have collapsed and taken you both with it."
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"We did what we could for her, Varian. I will carry her memory in my heart, but now... I am sure of one thing. She wanted us to continue on, and I will do that."
(OOC: I know I'm wrapping up some stuff, but I feel like this one has a couple tags left in it, to finish the thought. They're sort of at an important conversational point re: Julia here. I'll continue this as long as you like, teef.)
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He'd thought the answer on how to deal with Julia had been simple. Everything they'd learned about her to that point had suggested she was a suffering child- and that last memory.
"I think we chose wrong, but I don't think there was a right choice, either," which is about par for the course for them really, no winning allowed. "But you're right. She'd...want that from us."
[[ooc: It's allll good! We can keep this bad boy goin']]
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And honestly? Had her choices been made by everyone? The result might not have been nearly as good as she thought they would have. "So I think you are correct, that there was never a truly right choice. That poor girl was dead before we even knew her. I wish I could have known her in life. I will hope for her to have a chance at rebirth one day, a new hope."
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A pause.
"Except for Doug. Only the worst person alive ever would have chosen to hurt Doug."
That, at least, is a universal fact amongst Sleepers. Doug is good people.
"But...yeah, it really sucks, but by the time any of us got to the dream it was already too late. And it's not like any of us could go back and change that."
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A nod. Look, even Larxene hadn't broken his egg. That was saying something. "Doug... is a good soul, and I hope he's here somewhere. For all the pain we endured, he was a kind hearted one, wasn't he?"
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He's not convinced it was that simple. Nothing in Deerington was ever that simple, why would Julia's passing be any different?
"...Yeah, he really was. He was one of the few natives who actually cared about us the entire time. No ulterior motives. He just cared."
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"I sincerely hope to spend time with him if I can. So hard to find good people like that."
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