Look, if you don't talk, I'll talk to fill in the gaps, and we all know I do enough of that on any given day that ends in -y. [ beat. ] But you were awake, you dealt with the spirits. I've got some thoughts, but I'd be going in blind, figuratively speaking.
It adds up to what I've seen from the spirits. They don't think like we do. An innocent refusal to accept a gift of "junk" from the spirits could cause offense.
It's not a stretch that the spirits would be violently offended by our unwitting refusal to accept their offer of information. It sounds like they came offering the answers to the questions we've been asking since the start.
Those who weren't taking the offer were met with hostility. I'm not making excuses for what happened. I think applying our moralistic perspective to a completely different existence is a mistake. We're different and need to learn to work around those differences.
I have a theory about their offer. Only guys who fell asleep like you can verify if I'm on the right track. That is, if you're not sick of reading already.
Sick of reading? Riku, my idea of an exciting night breaking the rules when I was a kid was making a blanket fort and staying up way too late with a flashlight and a book. [ beat. ] —But sure, that tracks.
For what it's worth, I'm with you on working around the differences — and either way, who knows how many resets the spirits have been through, right? They're sentient and capable of thought — regardless of whatever else, everything they've been through has got have been a degree of [ a breath; a moment of consideration ] —emotionally compromising. Not to mention, they're the guys that raze the town when Robin decides to reset us. If they spend the time getting to know each and every group... It's gotta be tough.
(so about that KH: Dream Drop Distance game and its crazy inception plot)
[ Blanket forts and flashlights and stories. The thought makes Riku smile a little. Just for a moment. ]
It takes courage and a kind heart to consider the suffering of people so different from yourself.
[ Sora, Kairi, Dawn, they were too. ]
The green eyed spirits can cause us to hallucinate while we're at our most guarded and alert. Considering the spirits' insistence on eating the feast and the consequences of doing so - sleep - I think they might have been trying to inform us through our unconscious minds. Our minds and hearts are less guarded in sleep, where we process a lot as we dream. Our memories especially. Why not theirs too? If they could influence our dreaming with their memories, they could pass along a message without us fumbling our way through a conversation in the waking world. All of this means nothing if you guys didn't actually experience anything unusual while you were unconscious.
I don't think that's as rare as you're making it sound, especially in a place like this.
[ but back to the point: ] I mean, it depends on your definition of unusual, right? Because believe me, I've had some pretty strange dreams without the help of spirits or the consumption of questionable food and drink. I'm pretty I once had a dream where I managed to catch trains all the way to work without a single delay...
Fair. I've seen some incredible stuff in dreams, too. Vast worlds made of data, places where every step and movement turned into music. That's exactly what I mean though. Did you see or experience anything that might've been from before we came here? Or before the world became so dark?
Dreams like that are what made my girlfriend ban me from drinking coffee and eating cheese before bed.
[ JUST SAYING. ]
The world had a sun, but whatever happened caused chaos. Without knowing what anyone else went through, it's hard to say if what we saw was a literal or metaphorical representation, but whoever was here either was or felt trapped. They tried to get into the trapdoor in the church, and they went up to the belltower; there was a note — "we're all going to die". [ beat. ] It might have been a disease, there was a smell—.
How are you with ancient symbols, by the way? If I was to say "ouroboros", you'd say...?
A magical symbol from ancient times, a snake eating its tail. The beginning and end of time forming a closed loop. Before you ask, I'm not some sorcerer. I just happened to pick up some stuff from Master Yen Sid. I think.
[ Actually, he does think. Did he really pick that up from Master Yen Sid? If it has to do with time, isn't it possible the one he picked it up from was... Xehanort?
He shakes his head. ]
Symbols can be shared across worlds but have different meanings. Quentin might be able to help you with this too.
Can you explain what you saw with a little more detail? I'm not really following.
It didn't exactly make much sense to go through. [ a little peevishly, but he starts again: ]
On Earth, the ouroboros has its roots in ancient civilisations: the first to use it were the Egyptians, then the Greeks. History was never really my thing, although I had more of an ancient Egypt phase than an ancient Greek phase. [ beat. ] Anyway, it's been used predominately as a representation of rebirth, endlessly — you know, the cycle of life, death and rebirth? That was on the floor of the church.
If it's got anything to do with magic, that's not exactly my bag, either. But given the resets, I'd be surprised if it's unrelated, you know?
So, now we've established that — the church started off pretty much as you'd expect. No altar, religious texts, a little sign of use but nothing beyond the ordinary. The bell was ringing except when we got up there, it was turned over on its side, covered in dirt, dust and grime. Couldn't have been used in months, if not years.
[ a breath. ] Time in dreams being what it is, the staircase on the way down shifted from what it'd been when we went up: they reflected use, and also showed signs of desperation — fingernail scratches. People had either been trying to get in or get out. Same story for the trapdoor.
Somewhere in between all of this, the walls oozed black tar, the church smelt like sickness and Bruce found a note inside a bible.
I'm following now. If I had to guess, what you saw might have been the stuff that led up to the world dying. Isn't there someone living under the church trapdoor? Maybe there's a way to ask them about this.
[ that moment when peter references something and you're pretty sure you're supposed to pick up on it but you missed most of high school saving the universe so what the heck is an insurance claim?
he's too embarrassed to admit he doesn't get it... so he just.... doesn't answer.
Noo. [ beat. ] Punctured. [ he almost asks: have you seen a new girl around here? slightly foreign sounding, and tall. peter's not sure if he remembers her name right — it'd sounded like something you'd get from a fancy french boutique, and then there's the question of who is she? why was that her answer to whatever they'd found themselves in the middle of.
he thinks he wants an answer to that question before announcing she stabbed one with a screwdriver. ]
A screwdriver. They melted into a substance that was pretty similar to the ooze from the church walls, but I wouldn't be able to tell you much more than that because then I died.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Are you sure you want to hear my thoughts? It's a lot.
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Go for it. I'm interested.
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[ Some minutes pass... ]
It adds up to what I've seen from the spirits. They don't think like we do. An innocent refusal to accept a gift of "junk" from the spirits could cause offense.
It's not a stretch that the spirits would be violently offended by our unwitting refusal to accept their offer of information. It sounds like they came offering the answers to the questions we've been asking since the start.
Those who weren't taking the offer were met with hostility. I'm not making excuses for what happened. I think applying our moralistic perspective to a completely different existence is a mistake. We're different and need to learn to work around those differences.
I have a theory about their offer. Only guys who fell asleep like you can verify if I'm on the right track. That is, if you're not sick of reading already.
no subject
For what it's worth, I'm with you on working around the differences — and either way, who knows how many resets the spirits have been through, right? They're sentient and capable of thought — regardless of whatever else, everything they've been through has got have been a degree of [ a breath; a moment of consideration ] —emotionally compromising. Not to mention, they're the guys that raze the town when Robin decides to reset us. If they spend the time getting to know each and every group... It's gotta be tough.
(so about that KH: Dream Drop Distance game and its crazy inception plot)
It takes courage and a kind heart to consider the suffering of people so different from yourself.
[ Sora, Kairi, Dawn, they were too. ]
The green eyed spirits can cause us to hallucinate while we're at our most guarded and alert.
Considering the spirits' insistence on eating the feast and the consequences of doing so - sleep - I think they might have been trying to inform us through our unconscious minds.
Our minds and hearts are less guarded in sleep, where we process a lot as we dream. Our memories especially. Why not theirs too?
If they could influence our dreaming with their memories, they could pass along a message without us fumbling our way through a conversation in the waking world.
All of this means nothing if you guys didn't actually experience anything unusual while you were unconscious.
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[ but back to the point: ] I mean, it depends on your definition of unusual, right? Because believe me, I've had some pretty strange dreams without the help of spirits or the consumption of questionable food and drink. I'm pretty I once had a dream where I managed to catch trains all the way to work without a single delay...
—We were in the church.
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Vast worlds made of data, places where every step and movement turned into music.
That's exactly what I mean though. Did you see or experience anything that might've been from before we came here?
Or before the world became so dark?
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[ JUST SAYING. ]
The world had a sun, but whatever happened caused chaos. Without knowing what anyone else went through, it's hard to say if what we saw was a literal or metaphorical representation, but whoever was here either was or felt trapped. They tried to get into the trapdoor in the church, and they went up to the belltower; there was a note — "we're all going to die". [ beat. ] It might have been a disease, there was a smell—.
How are you with ancient symbols, by the way? If I was to say "ouroboros", you'd say...?
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Before you ask, I'm not some sorcerer. I just happened to pick up some stuff from Master Yen Sid. I think.
[ Actually, he does think. Did he really pick that up from Master Yen Sid? If it has to do with time, isn't it possible the one he picked it up from was... Xehanort?
He shakes his head. ]
Symbols can be shared across worlds but have different meanings. Quentin might be able to help you with this too.
Can you explain what you saw with a little more detail? I'm not really following.
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On Earth, the ouroboros has its roots in ancient civilisations: the first to use it were the Egyptians, then the Greeks. History was never really my thing, although I had more of an ancient Egypt phase than an ancient Greek phase. [ beat. ] Anyway, it's been used predominately as a representation of rebirth, endlessly — you know, the cycle of life, death and rebirth? That was on the floor of the church.
If it's got anything to do with magic, that's not exactly my bag, either. But given the resets, I'd be surprised if it's unrelated, you know?
So, now we've established that — the church started off pretty much as you'd expect. No altar, religious texts, a little sign of use but nothing beyond the ordinary. The bell was ringing except when we got up there, it was turned over on its side, covered in dirt, dust and grime. Couldn't have been used in months, if not years.
[ a breath. ] Time in dreams being what it is, the staircase on the way down shifted from what it'd been when we went up: they reflected use, and also showed signs of desperation — fingernail scratches. People had either been trying to get in or get out. Same story for the trapdoor.
Somewhere in between all of this, the walls oozed black tar, the church smelt like sickness and Bruce found a note inside a bible.
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A bible is a religious text, right?
What did the note say?
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I'm following now. If I had to guess, what you saw might have been the stuff that led up to the world dying.
Isn't there someone living under the church trapdoor?
Maybe there's a way to ask them about this.
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—We went down there.
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1/2 SORRY
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Bodies. In sheets. [ pause, then slightly uncomfortably: ] They melted.
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he's too embarrassed to admit he doesn't get it... so he just.... doesn't answer.
thank goodness peter elaborates. ]
melted? out of the blue or for some reason?
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he thinks he wants an answer to that question before announcing she stabbed one with a screwdriver. ]
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Come on, you gotta give me more than that. By who or what? Why?
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weren't they covered by a sheet?
as in dead already?
why stab them with a screwdriver? who does that?
1/3
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1/2
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