week two | dates

[marriagebroker]

Kiss the girl~!

Or guy.

Or person.

Or Messmer's snake.

Comments

[reverso]

Of course.

[There's a part of him that hates thinking back on that time, but the rest yearns for it. He's telling himself he'll have to accept the bad with the good if he wants to continue to play this game, to dip his toes into the deep, black ocean of The Truth.

But he'll place their food order first; as well as anything Nico wants, if he so desires. After that, he might take a moment to poke at the song selection (all of it, pretty unfamiliar) before he decides on where to begin.]

It was beautiful. [That's a good starting point.] Rife with establishments devoted to the arts. Temperate weather, good food, and a lively community. Oh, and you could grow some of the loveliest flowers.

It was large and bustling, but somehow, every day felt... slow. Calming.

[Idyllic. In retrospect, that was probably purposefully so.]

[crimsin]

[ Let's be real, Nico probably ordered something silly like an ice cream sundae.

While they wait for their food to arrive, he sits back to listen, rapt and attentive. As ever, Nico gives his all to anyone he's with. ]

It sounds lovely. What happened to it?

[ The use of the past tense is pretty obvious. ]

[reverso]

[The use of past-tense is automatic and unavoidable, at least in the case of his old home. It's not a fresh loss, unlike some things.]

The world was... practically shattered by an event we call the Fracture. A chunk of Lumière went flying across the sea — and those were the luckiest of us. The rest? Devastated and destroyed.

[crimsin]

Oh, mon ami. I am so sorry to hear it.

[ He's glad some of it survived, at least. The more he learns, the more he comes to understand the grief that Verso carries with him. Or so he thinks. ]

What of the piece that survived?

[reverso]

It was all chaos and panic. No one understood what had happened, and so many had gone missing. That was why the Expeditions were originally formed, you know — to seek out the people that might've been left behind, across the sea. It was why I became one.

[crimsin]

You have mentioned these Expeditions before.

[ And how he keeps watching the Expeditioners die, even a hundred years later. ]

It sounds as though their purpose has changed?

[reverso]

[He's still poking at the song selection, a few more moments passing before he finally turns to look at Nico, his gaze somewhat distant.]

...Yes. Soon, it was less about finding lost loved ones and more about trying to save all of humanity itself. To make their way to the Monolith in the distance, where a being called the... Paintress would mark a large, glowing number on the stone. Every year, everyone of that age would Gommage. They'd become erased from existence entirely. And every year that number would decrease by one.

[It was a countdown. Or so that's what everyone believed.]

She never appeared until after the Fracture, so it was apparent the two were related somehow, as well.

[crimsin]

[ It sure sounds like a countdown, and Nico looks aghast at the revelation. ]

To be erased entirely… knowing your time was coming… I am so sorry.

How… [ He has like a dozen questions, including the question of Verso’s apparent immortality in the face of that terrible ticking clock. Ultimately, he decides to start with, ]

Was she ever stopped?

obligatory vague e33 spoilers warning

[reverso]

[It's a good question.

Finally, he meets Nico's gaze, his own features shadowed. His tone is somber, but there's something uncertain underpinning it, too. Or maybe it's just sorrow and guilt, reined in.]

We did. It was grueling, but managed to defeat her. Not much need for Expeditioners after that, is there?

obligatory vague e33 spoilers warning

[crimsin]

I suppose not. I am glad to hear that your world is no longer in danger, at least.

[ He looks Verso over a moment. ]

But how does that explain your age? How did you escape this Gommage?

[reverso]

[Right. His world… no longer in danger……………]

That’s complicated. My immortality was the Paintress’ doing, because the leader of my team agreed to ally with her when we first found her, in exchange for such a boon.

[Again, he weaves half-truths into his tale, I’m sorry but w3 will be so much better I promise.]

Eventually, I took issue with that. The fight that followed is where I got this scar over my eye, actually.

[crimsin]

[ The scar… he’d wondered, of course, but it seemed rude to just ask. ]

What happened to the rest of your team? Are you the only one left?

[reverso]

[Ah. The hardest bit of all to talk about, and thus the hardest for him to be openly truthful about.]

They're all gone now.

[But it is true.]

Except for one.

[crimsin]

One? Not you?

[reverso]

One other than me.

[He's just going to punch in another song, and the intro to it starts playing.]

The last battle wasn't without its sacrifices. Ending the cycle of death would never have been so easy, not like in the storybooks.

[crimsin]

[ Sad backstory karaoke… his favorite. ]

Things rarely turn out so nicely. [ He gives Verso a little smile, the expression a bit sad at the edges ]. I understand what you have gone through better than you might realize, I think.

[reverso]

[The music's a distraction, mostly, as though it might pull them away from the weight of the conversation. Thankfully, Nico offers a way out, and he takes it.]

How so?

[crimsin]

[ Sorry to say this change in subject is likewise not very happy. ]

The humans of my world are… not treated well, oppressed and used for generations upon generations, and my people will not entertain the thought of change. There are some few who fight for the betterment of our world, and this is where I have thrown my lot.

So few of my mortal friends have the luxury of making it to old age.

[reverso]

[Oh. He knew that Nico would outlive his mortal friends due to having a vampire's lifespan, but losing them to conflict, war, and/or oppression?

That's far worse. Far more heart-wrenching.]

...Hard, isn't it. The suddenness of it all.

[crimsin]

It is. It is one thing to expect a human to grow old, but…

[ His gaze finds something innocuous to focus on, the menus they’ve left scattered on the table. ]

I hope it is worth it, in the end.

[reverso]

[All that death, all that sacrifice. Was it worth it? The cycle has ended in a way that no one expected, but it's debatable if it was kind to anyone other than himself.]

To be free? Is that not always worth it?

[crimsin]

[ He laughs a little, and for once, the sound is more sad than it is happy. ]

You are right, of course. It is just… difficult to watch, sometimes.

[reverso]

[...He gets it.]

I'm sorry, Nico. How is that fight faring in your world, now?

[crimsin]

It is long and bloody and difficult. The Lord Emperor has held his throne for nearly ten-thousand years.

As you can imagine, change is not easy to come by.