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[youngtimer]

NeverAcorned - Standard UN || HoratioV - Fog/Lighthouse UN || 5ofDiamonds - Casino Business || Odyssean - Anonymous/Sock UN

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Comments

[alchepistol]

[ Yes, though in her lexicon, "asshole" tends to get a different name. ]

Your father sought control.

[ And there it is. ]

I can't remember, are you okay with spoilers for S1?

[youngtimer]

To the finest degree possible.

[he snorts, shaking his head]

We only got half an hour of "recreation time" on Saturdays. Everything else was either training or fighting. Fine for a revolution in search of perfection, I'm sure - but not fine for a group of kids who hadn't even hit puberty yet.

spoil me thoroughly i am a 100% spoiler friendly zone at all times

[alchepistol]

[ Oh, this ticks her off. Saint-Germain has little use for leisure, herself - but that's her choice, based on her ideals. Cagliostro and Prelati - she had explained what they'd be getting into when she offered them perfect bodies born of alchemy! In her whole long life, those two alone had shared her ideals....and thus, she had approached no others.

No one should control anyone else. ]

Nor for anyone who hadn't agreed wholeheartedly to such measures.

HOKAY SO MASSIVE S1 SPOILERS THEN, also CW: mention of suicide

[youngtimer]

See, we all ended up feeling the same way. That's why I found out, eventually, that we all left. My sister Vanya wrote a tell-all book about it - I read it in the library ruins while I was stuck in the apocalypse. Diego left, first to join the police, then he went vigilante. Allison became a movie star. Klaus just ... drifted in and out of rehab because drugs were the only way he could avoid his power, poor idiot. And you already know about Luther and the moon. We were all kinda scattered to the winds, living our lives ... until we found out he died. The day I came back from the Commission was the day of his funeral. Luther and Diego got in a fight over whether or not Dad had been murdered. Luther was convinced he had been. Diego wasn't. But I was too determined to stop the apocalypse to care either way.

[he sips at his drink, taking a slow breath once he's swallowed. he's had so much time to think about this, and it still absolutely stymies him]

Turns out they were both wrong. Klaus got a chance to talk to Dad's spirit, right before everything started going haywire. He fucking killed himself, because he knew it was the only way to get us all back together again so that we could save the world. You want to talk about control - [he snorts, flailing a hand in the air] - well.

Reginald Hargreeves could probably be your posthumous poster child.

[alchepistol]

......Impermissible.

[ Not that she can do anything about it. And not that she's good enough at being a social person that she's offering condolences. But Saint-Germain sits here, a pillar of grim indignation. Horatio Hargreeves has.....!!

She is practically emanating Righteousness. Getting it all over your nice den of sin. Beg pardon. ]

[youngtimer]

Pretty much how I felt about it, too.

[he sighs, finishing off his own drink]

But in the end, he got what he wanted - even if he was the one who set the whole problem up in the first place. I don't know if he realized that part, though: that suppressing Vanya's powers as a kid would make her go nuclear once she found out. That she was the one who would have caused the Apocalypse.

[alchepistol]

If he did, it's an awkward way to make amends.

[ ....That said. She closes her eyes, trying to cool her head, sipping her drink. Who was it whose desire to liberate mankind from control was used by one who wished to exert that control.....? And who then burned up her own self in the hopes of finally being of use to others....? For whom, being there, when she was needed, was enough to make her feel her long life had been worthwhile....? ]

Though I'm one to talk.

[youngtimer]

I don't really think amends had anything to do with it, personally, but ... it's a nice thought, I guess.

[her final remark makes him tilt his head at her curiously]

Pretty sure you're about as far from anything like my father as anyone could get.

[alchepistol]

[ To speak honestly? That warms her heart. Perhaps it's a false comparison. He would know - and, if an attempt to benefit humanity did not lie at the heart of Reginald Hargreeves's actions, the parallel does crumble. ]

I'll take that as a compliment.

care to start wrapping this since they have the theatre plot later?

[youngtimer]

That's the right idea. ... Anything else you want to know?

sounds good!

[alchepistol]

I believe that suffices for today.

[ Haste makes waste. This is why Saint-Germain's default response to seeing something she absolutely can't ignore is......watch it. Like a hawk. A revolutionary hawk.

Who is discovering that the falcon one tree over is well worth bordering territory with. ]

Thank you again.

<countvoncount>in the late august lull between fogs

[alchepistol]

[ Saint-Germain spends a surprisingly long time with her message window open, staring at the screen, her missing CTRL keys keyboard, the middle distance.

Never in her long life has she attempted to bring about justice in this fashion. She's always focused on one great, grand goal, a mighty sacrifice for the worthiest payoff. That remains her priority. The subjugation of Ryslig will not cease until its corrupted mechanisms have been untwisted and power is restored to man- and monster-kind alike. To that end, she will discover and utilize the perfect means. No matter the cost.

But even so.

The object of the game is to suffer. The way to defy the game is to not. A world built to cause pain might find itself weakening the less pain it generates. Even a backlash, an attempt to put the inhabitants back in their supposed "place", could be seen as proof such behavior is to be dissuaded. A slave is not struck unless they overreach.

"To make as good a thing out of a bad thing as we can."

It's a strategy so optimistic she almost wants to dismiss it as arrogance. To think anything in life could have that perfect a resolution. In her few months here, she's pursued good things and quickly had them twisted against her. Ryslig is swift, and Ryslig shows no mercy.

But even so.

Ra's-Manifestations-Are-What-Is-Right-And-True Atem, understanding the need for caution yet unable to realize this has led him to acceptance of the system. Composer Yoshiya Joshua, breaking through to his world with the help of the Fourth God - yet forced into Ryslig's schedule, Ryslig's design. The Day and Night Gods' powers may remain, yet are insufficient. The Fog and the Fourth are bound to the laws of the world.

But even so.

A capsule has been sent into the Sea of Stars. A substitute for human flesh has been synthesized. Mana the coin witch is, Saint-Germain has determined, the most powerful person in Ryslig, or the one whose powers come closest to the reality-fracturing divine power she seeks. Ideally, she'd like to learn Mana's arts. But in the meantime.....

"To make as good a thing out of a bad thing as we can."

Cagliostro's arms around her. The small satisfaction of a completed game of solitaire. The life's mission of Ultimate Astronaut Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, who seems to have no objective save to enable others to achieve their own. The sense, surrounded by those who have suffered and those who have lived ages unending, of not being alone.

The feeling, as life slipped from her fingers in exchange for preserving the lives of others, of finally, at long last, not wanting to die.

It's only been a few months. Saint-Germain is used to planning, to drawing conclusions, in terms of decades.

Saint-Germain will revolt against control. ]

What does volunteering for the Lighthouse involve?

[ It feels almost as if it isn't her, asking. And yet, there's a flicker of thrill somewhere deep inside.... ]

<HoratioV>

[youngtimer]

[he's in the middle of catching up on his office work at the casino when her message comes through, and he smiles. he'd wondered how long it would take Saint-Germain to come to this conclusion - even on the day they'd met, he'd had a feeling that she would be a good fit for the Lighthouse, and over the course of getting to know her, he'd found her not only a kindred spirit, but an inspiration]

Whatever you want it to, really. Explaining things to new people, answering their questions, pointing them to people or places you know can help them. Helping me update maps. Collecting donations of solars or goods for kits like the one I gave you. Helping me put them together. Going to where the new arrivals are and handing things out. Printing leaflets at the press down the street.

[and then he has a sudden image of Saint-Germain passed out over the printing press, or surrounded by care package boxes, nodding off with a Bavan Furry Trout t-shirt half folded in her hands. thankfully, he knows just how to prevent that.]

You know I'd be happy to have you with me in this. Just don't try to do so much that you overwork yourself. I don't think Cagliostro would like that.

<countvoncount>

[alchepistol]

I'll pace myself.

[ says the spider surrounded by at least a dozen library books, all of them reference texts (yes, even Animal Grayveyard by Sven Konig), a handful of Day/Night God amulets, and a chess set.

She considers this description. In the Illuminati, she'd been given free rein to pursue projects so long as she also accepted and completed missions the Director found necessary. She had acceded to this arrangement, trusting his understanding of the society's needs surpassed her own. Now she knows he'd used her.

But Horatio Hargreeves is not Adam Weishaupt, and once again, in Ryslig, she's given more of a choice. So what, to Saint-Germain, is the most valuable service the Lighthouse provides......? Where can she maximize her utility?

Every other month, new soon-to-be monsters arrive. Every other month, more are captured. Dropped, adrift, without information. If they aren't assisted, their suffering might begin immediately, and Ryslig thereby reaps its reward.....

"Monstrous in name only." ]

Unless needed elsewhere, I can help with the kits.

<HoratioV>

[youngtimer]

Works for me! I put them together by clothing size, with stuff appropriate to whatever season we're in. Gonna start getting heavier layers and some coats from places, soon, so those donations will need to be sorted out. You could start there. ... And I should give you a tour of the building, some time.

<countvoncount>

[alchepistol]

Understood.

[ She will assemble THE PERFECT CARE PACKAGES. Complete introductory kits.

Yes, for the sake of her great desire. ]

<HoratioV>

[youngtimer]

I'm there most Tuesdays until around six ... you can come by whenever you like.

ATTACHMENT: MapAugYr2.GIF

[as though Saint-Germain would even lose her map of the peninsula or not already know how to get to the Lighthouse. but Horatio Hargreeves is nothing if not thorough]

<countvoncount>

[alchepistol]

I'll be there.

[ And she will be! The next Tuesday! Right after lunchtime, so as to not have the interruption of a meal (not of human, mind you, but at lunch, one eats). The map is nowhere in sight, but she did appreciate his attention to detail.

Even if she arrives by....lowering herself from the roof. Going across the tops of buildings has proven more efficient, given her wide leg span. ]

-> Action!

[youngtimer]

[he's just finished the peanut-butter-and-marshmallow sandwich he brought with him and washed it down with an iced coffee when she arrives - though the last of that iced coffee is lost to a spit-take as her shadow falls over him]

Shit, Saint-G -!

[he recovers easily, though, and is more than willing and able to laugh at himself]

Guess that one's on me for assuming you'd come in through the door.

[alchepistol]

No, I should have found a way to knock.

[ She offers him her handkerchief. ] My apologies.

[youngtimer]

[he takes it, still smiling as he daubs coffee from his t-shirt. he's been painting the molding up near the ceiling so it's a casual day]

Don't worry about it. Here, let me give you the tour. Obviously this is the main hall ... I've kept the pew benches for now, but eventually I want to replace them with proper chairs and tables. There's a spot over there for coffee, tea, water, and juice when we have it. And some non-perishable snacks. Then next to that is the brochure and voucher rack, in case people didn't get any of them when they arrived. I try to keep those stocked weekly.

[alchepistol]

[ good thing saint-germain came down instead of crawling inside and walking on the ceiling then

Saint-Germain takes in the sights on the tour, not commenting yet. She'll let Horatio Hargreeves give the full spiel first - though she is particularly intrigued to see whether or not it looks like the space is being used. How frequently do monsters come here, to the neutral ground, to take advantage of it?


.....oh no, one of the maps has. One of the maps is in with the brochures about Poundmates. This will NEVER do. Before she knows she's moving, she's fixed it. ]

[youngtimer]

[he notes her fastidiousness with a tiny smile, but doesn't remark on it, instead eventually leading her to a door at the back through what would have originally led to the priest's private space and the fellowship area - a short hallway off to the right of the church proper.]

Most of the care package sorting and assembly gets done back here - it's where we store all the donations.

[sure enough, there are bins, boxes, baskets, and bags of just about every stripe lined up on the counters that used to be for preparing platters of cookies and crudites. the long trestle table is clear of things at the moment, but there is a laminated sheet in the center of the table with a list of everything that goes in each care package. it's ... rudimentary. a perfectionist could make it even better, perhaps suggesting a consistent order and placement of things within the tote bags.]

I've been meaning to get a corkboard or something so that people can keep track of what donations we've already collected for the month, or if we're running low on anything.

[alchepistol]

[ At first, the barebones, scattershot nature of the operation shocks Saint-Germain. But then the implications of this workplace sink in, and her esteem rises.

After a fashion. ]

You achieve so much with such an incomplete system.....

[ Those marvelous care packages - the items to include had been so carefully considered. To think their roots had been so humble.....! Impressive! ]

[youngtimer]

Well, it was just me, Fiddleford, and Lust for a while. And then when Fiddleford stepped down, it was the two of us. With people coming and going so often, sometimes it's hard to keep a steady number of volunteers. But lately I think we've had the most I've seen since I jumped in to help.

We are gonna need to get more organized now that there are more hands on deck. I'd trust you with that sight unseen, if it's something you want to take on.

[he said it with a grin, knowing full well that she probably had several different possible configurations floating around her mind already, searching for the perfect permutation]