Calibrations Spill-Over Post

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nightingale, continuations

[experiencepoints]

[Starter over here. For continuations or new..]

Robin

[experiencepoints]

[from here]

Older. This is me from my more recent memories... I don't know exactly, but I get the feeling that this is me from not long before I died.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Oh.

[he pauses. tilts his head.]

You died?

[experiencepoints]

Yeah. Sort of. It's... a long story.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

So's mine.

[he says this without hesitation. he seems to be collected enough; maybe it's all the mirrors with broken glass arranged ominously, but he feels like he needs to be together down here.

he doesn't move yet, but looks back down at Nightingale instead.]

Do you want to tell me? I'll listen to it.

[experiencepoints]

... It starts with the end of the world and goes downhill from there.

If you want to know, you'll have to go further in. This room is my happiness. That story doesn't have any place here.

[birdsbirdsbirds]

Damn. [he glances back up at the pedestal, covered in mirror shards.] That's how it goes, isn't it?

[but if he has to go in further, he will. time to look at the pedestal a little closer.]

Any suggestions, while you're here?

[experiencepoints]

... There's two paths forward, but neither of them are pleasant.

[The pedestal seems to be ornate silver, the same material and design as the frames of the broken mirrors.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[so it's all from the same place, he guesses. hm.

sticking his hand out towards a pile of broken glass seems like a terrible idea, but the mirrors aren't exactly inviting either. one of them sticks out to him very clearly, though, so... he supposes that's the way he should go.

he hopes that simply touching it will be enough to get him wherever he needs to go, because that's his first action.]

[experiencepoints]

[Well-done, Robin.

You suddenly find the room around you has changed immensely. The layout of the items is the same, but the room itself is completely different. You’re in what looks to be a normal, modern-style bedroom… If it had been the site of a hurricane. Or a riot. Maybe a bomb? Maybe all of these things at once. There’s a horrible chill to the room, on top of the general wreck- The atmosphere is beyond unfriendly.

Nearly everything is smashed to pieces. Graffiti, in large frantic text, is scrawled all over the walls, reading things like LET ME DISAPPEAR, and I DESERVED IT ALL. The bed is in splinters, the mattress torn apart, springs sharp and jutting. There’s shredded pages in piles on the ground, and against the wall, a twisted, shattered mirror. There’s a pile of trash in the middle. Even the door’s nameplate looks as though someone has attacked it with a knife, trying their best to hack it to pieces, even though the name ‘Aiya’ can still faintly be made out. There’s a trash can in the corner, but all that’s in it is a simple book.

Sitting on the trash pile in the center, Nightingale herself can be found. But she looks much different- Covered in blood, huge gouges taken out of her, clothes tattered, with a dripping knife in her hand.

The items in this room are simply scattered all over the floor. A game console against the wall, a duffel bag hanging off the scraps that were once a bed, what looks to be a restaurant bill skewered on a bed spring. Inside the trash is a shredded outfit that may have once been very cute. A phone is left on the splintered desk, glowing softly.

Inside the pile of trash is a miniature monster, that looks like a boar with a lion’s mane. Tossed aside in the corner are a pair of golden barrettes, on top of a letter.

A small bird is sitting on the remains of the shelf, its breathing shallow…

The cracked mirror on the side of the room looks ready to fall, and the doorway next to the nameplate seems to be unlocked.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[ah. all right. he takes a couple of seconds just for himself, to breathe in the state of the room and to remember that it isn't really his, as familiar as the feeling is. the golden hairpin shook him up, loosened up feelings he doesn't like looking at, but this?

he's used to this, in as much as anyone can get used to having a knife twisted in their gut.

he looks very carefully over everything. the sight of the injured bird on the shelf tugs at his heartstrings, as he's always had a soft spot for them... but he thinks he knows what's more important. he steps carefully over the rubbish and mess in the room, approaching the pile of trash in the middle, and kneeling in front of this newest reflection of his very recent acquaintance.]

Hey. [he smiles. he doesn't sound pitying. he doesn't really pity the wounded anymore.] You don't look so good.

[experiencepoints]

... Hey. I was wondering if anyone would make it down here.

[She looks him over, her body language very closed- She's looking at him in the same way someone would assess a threat.]

[birdsbirdsbirds]

[that's fine with him. this room's full of weakness, which makes his presence there very threatening. he keeps his eyes on her, going from crouching to sitting on the floor cross-legged instead. at least he couldn't lunge at her, that way--there's less potential for sudden movement.]

I said that I would. And I'm still interested in hearing that story.

[experiencepoints]

You heard the important part.

[She looks at him, but does seem to relax a little once he's seated like that.]

The world ended. That's not something you can survive.

Nami

[experiencepoints]

[from here]

Not quite. If we can restore our souls, it can apparently bring back the whole world... I'm not sure how that works, but I saw it done a few times, for other people.

[Of course, while she's trapped here, that's a different story.]

[mikangirl]

Oh, really?

[That's a little more hopeful, but Nami catches the same complication: she can't do anything while forced to be on supposed live television. She's not sure how soul restoring would equal world restoring, but given firsthand experience with how purifying Deireadh restored that world, it's not so farfetched, is it?

She smiles, which turns into a scowl about two seconds later.] You ever bring up that fact with Diamond?

[experiencepoints]

Not yet. If I understand her type correctly, she'll end up holding that over my head- That I have to participate and win, then, or else.

And she ran away when I tried to talk to her last time.

[mikangirl]

Well, it goes a long way to show what we're dealing with here. If their reality show is more important than an entire world.

[Means there's no point ever negotiating, anyway.]

I'm glad, though. That you have that chance to bring things back. Even if you have to wait.

[experiencepoints]

Yeah.

[At least that last part gets a smile out of her.]

I'll bring them back eventually. No matter what I have to do for it. I'll see them again.

Felix

[experiencepoints]

[from here]

Oh... I didn't tell you. This is inside my heart.

[lord_wizard]

[Is this like his construct-city?]

You've been here before?

[experiencepoints]

Not this literally. But it's my own heart. I should understand it, right?

[lord_wizard]

[His smile is a rueful at that remark]

I'm not sure everyone does.But if that's the case...[He points towards the lower ladder, leading to the room full of mirrors] Do you know what is down there?

[experiencepoints]

That's the mirror room. Back at the dorm, that's where our mirrors with all of our memories were kept.

[lord_wizard]

[That put things into light, because he'd wondered how she knew she had forgotten anything at all, and suddenly it seemed far more cruel that he'd even imagined.

He paused, thoughtfully, eyes still on the ladder.]

Did you know most of them are broken?