audience: aventurine

[mygod]

Comments

[tactic]

[ God, this would be so good for jokes but he doesn't have the time for jokes!! ]

Neither. All the people who have died on your end are here where I am. We're not actually dead, or... we're almost certain we're not dead.

[mygod]

I see.

[ do they? well, they seem to catch on quick. there is a brief yawn, but they respond promptly afterward ]

Death as well? Tell him to come talk to us later, and we can confer with him based on what we think happened.

Status report. Are any of you injured? What about your vitals? Where are you?

[tactic]

I'll tell him.

[ Snaps to business. ]

No injuries, vitals are normal. We're in an unnamed town surrounded by fog similar to that of the village, so we haven't been able to cross through. The layout of the town isn't too different from that of the village, and no inhabitants here other than those who have passed from your side.

[mygod]

Interesting.

What of your connection to the monsters? Any sign of the cult there? That might be a question for Death. Any other anomalies? No additional casualties?

Do you have enough supplies to last you for the time being? Food? Water?

[tactic]

Connections have been severed. We found a tome that might have once belonged to the cult, but otherwise, no signs of them. Anomalies...

[ EVERYTHING? ]

We're able to watch the living from this side. No additional casualties, and supplies are plentiful and replenish themselves.

[mygod]

A tome? Explain.

[ but famine hums thoughtfully at the rest ]

I'll ask Death the same, but based on your assessment: what is the immediate threat level of your surroundings? Or any of you to each other.

[ aventurine's with the guy who shot him and all ]

[tactic]

There wasn't much inside. The pages were too worn. Something about ritual ingredients, and a barely legible account of the successful summoning of a god. We found it in a separate dimension that cropped up on its own.

[ This is all your area of expertise, culties. ]

Threat level is low for both surroundings and people. Tensions grow understandably high when victims are met with their murderers on this side, but nothing has gotten out of hand yet.

[mygod]

Separate dimension... That's not bad then. We've had some steps forward here as well.

[ there's the sound of more rustling, a few beeps of machinery, a tapping sound ]

The tension isn't a surprise. You and Death should get them all to keep behaving [ like a kindergarten ] and it won't be a problem. Chaos over there would be annoying, all things considered.

[tactic]

[ He's quiet for a moment. As tempting as it is to ask about other people, ask for messages to be sent over, he keeps his focus. ]

What are you working on over there? What do you need us to work on here?

[mygod]

Similar. Information collecting. The knowledge about the ritual is helpful, and knowing that you all can be able to get a monster detox is also useful. So keep doing whatever it is that led you this far.

We'll do similarly on this side, and see about getting pieces of the puzzle to be put together.

[ and then, finally in turn: ]

What is it that you need?

[tactic]

[ Another few seconds of silence, because he can imagine that what he's about to say might create contention between the people on this side, especially for newer arrivals. ]

... We're operating under the assumption that the cult believes us to be dead. It allows us to move freely on our end. We can't... have it get out that we're alive.

[mygod]

Oh?

Feeling like a martyr?

[ they don't disagree. but they also don't have the same sacrifice to make, as someone who is clearly still on the other side. the choice is... interesting ]

[tactic]

[ Wouldn't be the first time, RIGHT. ]

Nothing as noble as that. I only think it's important to keep the chips that we've been given.

[mygod]

[ stop that ]

I don't disagree with you. Some things need to be done without someone looking over your shoulder.

Don't feel too bad when someone cries on you for not telling them sooner that you're fine.

[tactic]

[ A small, quiet laugh. ]

I won't.

[ Imagine crying over him. ]

If this is the result of a dimensional overlap, you could be seeing more of us in the future whether we want to or not. We'll have to make the most of our current advantage while we still can.

[mygod]

I will be seeing more of you, now that I know you exist.

[ decisive. arrogant. but words that leave no measure for uncertainty. there is no 'if' in this equation, to famine. ]

It would be pitiful if any of you were left behind.

[tactic]

[ On Aventurine's end comes a stunned silence before he breaks it. ]

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, considering what you and the others were willing to risk in the first place. Sorry for placing one more burden on you.

[mygod]

I do not consider any of you a burden.

[ an annoyance, sure. absolutely. but burden is a deeper sentiment that famine doesn't resonate with. ]

So do not apologize for something that isn't accurate.

[tactic]

Wow, you should say more nice things about us.

[ When the urge to be annoying becomes too strong. ]

[mygod]

Your bar for nice is extremely low.

[ to not be called a burden? okay ]

[tactic]

You could change that.

[mygod]

[ laughs ]

If you go back to being competent instead of a pain, I could be tempted.

[tactic]

It's hard to feel competent when there's so little to go off of.

[ A thoughtful pause and then, ]

That machine you were building together. Has that idea been completely scrapped after the explosion?

[mygod]

The purpose of the machine was to be able to open an access point to an area away from the cult's eyes. It already wasn't ready by the time of the explosion, as the magical components that some of us aren't used to working with would've made travel back and forth near impossible from the way that your being would need to be unmade and remade in the transition. One of our tests went awry and Death paid the price, though these discoveries are also useful.

[ group projects are hard. anyway, ]

We still have the parts, though we haven't been working on rebuilding that just yet since we were searching for other avenues that wouldn't risk blowing one of us up.

[tactic]

Nehan—uh.

[ Him like do you guys even know your names. ]

Death thinks that the explosion is what's causing all these dimensions to appear. We could try looking for ways to control them? See if it's possible to open up certain ones, kind of like what your original plan was.