synopsychic | (no subject)

[As much as Naoki's wanted to say some of this since... well, since halfway through the mess in Misericordia, he decided to hold off and gather his thoughts first. As bad as that was for him and Kanji, it was worse for other people, and from what he's gathered the other jaunt wasn't exactly a picnic either. And then there was the party, and making that many drinks is more attention-consuming than you might think - and, well, no point in dumping that on people in the same moment as Armin-san's list of the departed. But he doesn't want this to wait until after the next jaunt.

It may not make a whole lot of sense to the new people, but hey, they can get explanations along the way.]

Okay. Now that we've all had a little time to decompress, I have a couple things I want to get on the table.

We need to start pooling information about where we've been, considering how often lately it's turned out to be where at least some of us are going. I know there's not much to be done about Moebius or anything that came before it, but... if we'd had more than half-panicked half-information halfway through everything in Misericordia, we might've been able to save some of our group a world of hurt. I'm not looking to cast blame for what's already happened, I'm looking to improve our chances going forward. [Alcuin and Ambrose tried, and it's not their fault things happened as they did.]

Whenever we can be prepared, there's no reason we shouldn't be. I'm sure some of us have been keeping private records, but we need something everyone can get to. If we can keep a log of the basics of these places - the nuts and bolts, maybe a note of what Trumps showed up if any - it'll help keep us out of a little trouble, anyway. I don't know the best way to do something like this, but I think we need at least one physical copy, since not everyone can work backwards on the network. Probably multiple copies of it, to cover for split groups and infiltrating and all that. A computer that people could Interface the information from might work, but that runs into the same storage issues, not to mention needing a computer for it in the first place.

Helena-san's trying to write up Purgatory as a story. We settled on trying that one because I know the most about it of anything I've been here for but she hadn't. Depending on how well that goes, she'll probably want to talk to people about some of the others, and either way I think we'll have a starting point.

If anyone's willing to help, donate notes, offer a place to keep everything, whatever - I'll take any help I can get with this thing. It's a resource we need, especially if the split-group situation keeps happening.

Another thing that came up in Misericordia before everything went to hell was the idea of trying to run a Sift on a familiar face. This one I'm mostly leaving to everyone who kept Sift - I bet the parameters would be tricky, from what Naoto's said about it before, but establishing a good set would give everyone a chance to try it, next time we run into one of them. All I can really offer on that end is my Assistance, if I'm there and myself when the chance comes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shit, really? I didn't even know she was actually here.

[There's something a little bit like hope in his mental voice; he likes the kid, even if she needs a broader range of material.]

I suppose it's pretty easy to dismiss when it doesn't result in fighting a mercenary group with their asses flapping in the breeze.

... she was recently announced as missing. I'm sorry, Varric.

[It's a shame, really, that Varric had someone from home disappear just before he arrived.]

There were two dangerous criminals on the loose. My infiltration was one of them. I think everyone was more concerned with catching them than catching whomever stole their pants.

...Oh. [There's a brief pause.] That's probably for the best. She's always hated mystical crap.

And it's usually the bigger fish who draw the most attention. That's half of why she does what she does. But if it's not too much of a sore spot, what did your infiltration do?

... it is much easier to describe what my infiltration did not do, in truth.

[And he will livestream his senses to show Varric an identical copy of Blitzkopf's wanted poster.]

Unnatural use of livestock?

[It's not the worst crime on the list, but - at least to his eyes - it's certainly the strangest.]

So, did the forces of law and order triumph, or did he manage to make his escape?

Unnatural uses in his... "experiments", for lack of a better term for such horrors. Slaughtering them to attempt to revive them, grafting tissues, and so forth.

[Leonardo gives a mental sigh that doesn't sound very optimistic.]

They failed. He escaped. Quite handily, too.

Ah, necromancy. That never ends well.

[There's a sense of disquiet there that runs deeper than the expected distaste surrounding the thought of reanimating the dead should account for, though when he continues, his tone is even.]

I'm sorry you have to carry the memories of that. It isn't the kind of shit anyone should have to live with if they haven't volunteered for it.

There was no magic involved, so I would hesitate to call it necromancy. He did not communicate with any spirits, simply attempted to revive their body after they had expired. Reanimation, more closely. But it still consumed his every waking thought, it seemed, while he was wearing my face.

I have lived with far worse memories from Harrogate. I turned into a man who wished to see everyone around him dead and the world burn. By comparison, Blitzkopf was a... how do the future Travelers phrase it... a "cake walk"? I will survive. I've managed thus far.