audience: astarion

[mygod]

Comments

[wolftonic]

Hm... Something like that might work next week, since they'll have more freedom to act as we end up in the final stretch before the ritual.

[ astarion and nehan don't understand how murder proposals work though ]

Are you just hoping he gets here ASAP?

[haematocritical]

I’m fine suggesting that to War and Pestilence. [ me out here like did this bitch ever even ask muelsyse her name i gotta get on that. ] How long do they have? Until the… not next ritual, the time of the one after?

[ ……… ]

… [ a little grumbly ] Yes. I’d prefer it to him being over there alone. [ he has so many people over there shut up. ]

[wolftonic]

[ he pauses, then waves his hand ]

...You really don't need to suggest it. I know this is difficult to hear, but like I said, you're all better off letting the living set the pace of these things. Your letters and whatnot are confusing and scaring them.

[ they are being counterproductive by trying to encourage people to die and trying to take things into their own hands. ]

I know you don't want him over there on his own. But I'm sure he also wants to see you all again. [ so let gale handle it, with the decisions he thinks are best. ]

[haematocritical]

[ grumble ]





At least tell me we get to thank these cultists of ours at some point. I have so many things I’d love to say to them.

[ with a knife ]

[wolftonic]

[ he's so right for this ]

Besides us? I'm not sure how many will deign to visit in person. They operate in different dimensions. You can try to take out your grievances on the god they're summoning, that would make a deeper cut.

[ sometimes the best way to get revenge is to leave someone alive but take away everything they live for ]

[haematocritical]

[ oho. ]

Oh I do like that idea. Steal it right out from under their noses and ruin it.

[wolftonic]

[ astarion your nasty little man vibes! unfortunately he relates. ]

Mm. Even if they want to try to conduct the ritual again, it'd be a blow to the organization. Hopefully a crippling one.

[ he's not like, an optimist, but he thinks foiling this whole plot will cause some damage. ]

[haematocritical]

[ yeah but like.


it’d be fun. ]

If their god’s summoned and it failed, would they even be able to try again?

[wolftonic]

[ yeah it'd be fun ]

Hm... It does take plenty of resources and effort to make the ritual a success. Unless the upper... 'management' as you might call them is taken out, there's no guarantee they'll stop entirely.

But none of us are involved in the cult leadership, so I'm not sure what state they're in these days. It's kept secret, even from us. Sorry.

[haematocritical]

I don’t suppose upper management are the kind of people to do “on site” visits?

[wolftonic]

[ he laughs, even if it's totally empty of any real humor. ]

...Revenge isn't my priority right now, but I understand. [ a nice bonus. ]

[haematocritical]

[ his priority is getting killed by frantic lucas and tended to by his boyfriend. i understand. ]

A pity. It’s refreshing. Good for your mental health or whatever.

[wolftonic]

[ i think more people should've died to lucas ]

I wouldn't go that far... [ he is a Revenge Guy but ] Every time I've gotten even, it hasn't been very satisfying.

[ mental health is fucky that way. ]

[haematocritical]

[ rudely they came back while i was asleep or i’d have been there immediately. ]

…

[ he laughs. ]

True, isn’t it? Freeing, but it doesn’t fill the spaces that are left empty by whatever you wanted revenge against.

[wolftonic]

[ i encourage everyone to die all of the time ]

...Right. [ even from a single memory, he can understand that astarion probably knows these things quite intimately. ] Isn't it strange, how badly you can want revenge, and in the end, all it nets you is... an absence.

[ you lose that desire for vengeance, and that's about it. nothing gained. a little softly, ]

My advice is filling in the spaces instead. But I'm sure you don't need to hear that.

[haematocritical]

[ ok astarion’s going to go and fall on a butter knife. ]

Freedom is terrifying, truly. But it’s rather compelling too— well. When you get to indulge in it.

[ HE GOT FREE AND THEN IMMEDIATELY CAME HERE. ]

[wolftonic]

[ yayyyy :) traumatizes the bg3s some more ]

It is. [ it is truly a scary thing. but also sorry that you died instantly, bud. ] ...How long have you been waiting for it? Your freedom.

[haematocritical]

[ the poetry of karlach seeing her husband die and then also astarion. damn. it would’ve been good. ]

Two hundred years.

[wolftonic]

[ it would've been and flurry would deserve it

200 years is a long time. ]

...And you couldn't die?

[haematocritical]

Shockingly, I don't--didn't, even. I didn't want to die, I wanted to get away from it all. Or, I did when I had enough lucidity to think that.

I doubt I would've been allowed to die either way. I was necessary for Cazador's ritual, after all.

[wolftonic]

At least you had that much awareness.

...What sort of ritual was that?

[haematocritical]

[ cheerfully (it’s forced cheer): ]

Oh, just a tiny one. Trying to ascend a vampire into a state that overcame the limitations one would expect from a vampire. Walking in the sun, eating regular food, not having to be invited anywhere.

It just came at the minute cost of 7000 sacrificed souls.

[wolftonic]

[ wow! their 40 looks like chump change now ]

...For some, no amount of lives is too many.

[ he looks a little discomfited by the number, which is more than his stoicism would allow usually anyway. ]

And if you leave here, you don't suppose he'll come trying to fetch you again?

[haematocritical]

[ it sure was so many souls. ]

Oh. No, he's very, very dead.

[wolftonic]

...Congratulations then.

So all you need to do is defeat a cult and their god, and find out what to apply your freedom to. [ he does not say this like any of it will be easy ]