08 - epilogue

[afflictionmods]

EPILOGUE

So.

Juniper is dead. Lorelei and Florence are alive. And the rest of you, thankfully, are also alive and kicking.

The building is kind of a mess right now, and a lot of the citizens are in kind of disarray, confused and uncertain of what exactly is going on in the Camellia tower. Things are a bit of a mess right now, but what matters is that you’ve stopped things. The cycle of these experiments, suppression – it’s over.

Your markings are still here, however. You are free to try and figure that out, too (though the answer is, indeed, quite simple with the "B" toggle, and may be hand waved). Other than that, though, everything seems to be...stabilized. As good as they can be, anyway. Lorelei and Florence are around, for any last conversations. When you emerge, the sun is out, perhaps brighter than usual – though whether that’s because of joy from the citizens or confusion is anyone’s guess – and some of you are covered in blood, but you are here.

And you are ready to finally, finally return home.

---

(OOC: For anyone who's willing, Lorelei will be able to configure tablets to synch up with the portal here at Estelline. From there, they will be able to world hop to someone else's world; so the Estelline portal is now a hub, of sorts. It's not a direct world hop and it's a bit inconvenient, but it is a way for you guys to see each other again.

She will also ensure that those who are currently sleeping will be sent home in one piece.

All of this can be handwaved, or threaded out in the Lorelei thread.

Happy Good Ending, everyone!)

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[undertakings]

[It almost seems like he wants to say something at first, but the combination of the cloak just appearing out of nowhere combined with the hug interrupts his thoughts as he stiffens in surprise. As his mood shifts into something more pensive, he'll relax his tensed posture, although his arms will remain hanging loosely at his sides. Getting thanked for that wasn't exactly on his list of expectations for today, so he just falls silent for a bit.

Really, it didn't feel like he did anything worth the sentiment, but if Hien managed to put even a bit of his lingering regrets to rest, then well. That's enough, probably.

Even if that now begs the question of what's next.]

Are you going to look for him again?

cw suicide mention

[selfconcept]

Ren? No. I know where he'll be, but... well, I thought about it a lot.

[ He lets go of Shin and stands up straight. ]

The point of why I did it was to change someone I knew for the better. You saw how he was like, didn't you? The older one. If I could have Ren grow up without any incidents, it would have changed something.

[ He knows that without his interference, the same Ren will always opt to starve himself outside in the cold. That'll be the end of that. ]

I'll stop doing it.

[undertakings]

[Shin just watches Hien when he pulls away and starts speaking. There's no judgment or approval in his stare, only a quiet attentiveness as he listens. There are still a lot of details that he's missing, but ultimately, what matters is Hien's decision.]

I see.

[Sometimes, there were things that you just had to accomplish no matter what. But letting go was was a way of moving forward too, and keeping someone alive was far more difficult than putting them to rest. Softly:]

But you'll still remember him, won't you? As long as you do that... you can take him with you wherever you go.

[selfconcept]

... Yeah. Even if I wanted to, I'm sure Fai would be against it.

[ And since he'll be traveling with him now, that would be... difficult to go around. ]

I'll just have to remember what happened, instead of forgetting. Memories are a little different to me than what it probably is for you, but... well, I'll be able to cope.

[ He lightly shrugs. ]

Also, stop giving your mechanic a hard time.

[ lol ]

[undertakings]

[That comment about memories gets a little headtilt from Shin and suddenly reminds him of the fact that Hien is super old according to the profiles. He's not sure if it's because of that or some other factor, but there's a part of him that thinks he should've expected that, somewhat. So there's a small nod from him, although the gesture gives way to a perplexed look before he averts his gaze by glancing to the side.

Calling him out huh... there's a pause before he answers.]

...I haven't heard any complaints recently.

[which is. technically true because he hadn't been in the hangar after their last big sortie ended and there were bigger things to deal with but it counts, clearly!!]