[log] Chopped: Link's Exploded Backpack Edition

[unsheathedfromreality]

Who: Anyone who wants to salvage the Unreasonably Large Food Pile left in the kitchen ... and elsewhere ... by Link's departure.
What: An Unreasonably Large Pile of delicious fresh food!
When: April 1st
Where: The kitchen and surrounding areas in the Lobby. The bugs and lizards might spread ...
Content warnings: Contains live insects!! Potential insect-eating. Should be pretty tame otherwise!

It starts with a hurried post on the bulletin board in Illarion's efficient script:

There is an enormous pile of food in the kitchen that needs to be saved.

Anyone who can prepare or preserve it welcome.

After an hour or two, a tidy little inventory appears beneath the initial message, along with an attempt to track -- by name or description -- who's taken what, and how it's been used. There are some inventive descriptions on there for the items Illarion doesn't recognize.

(It doesn't look exactly like this -- because Illarion doesn't know the names of everything in the pile, or everyone who stops by, and certainly wouldn't make a spreadsheet -- but the poor digital substitute will have to stand in for his glorious real list.)

---

Those who do respond to the urgent missive will find the kitchen exactly as described: Absolutely full to overflowing with fresh produce that could've grown in the Library's garden, alongside a veritable market wagon of fresh fish, meat, and more produce. (Along with ... rocks and wood?)

Oh, and there's also a minor infestation of live bugs and reptiles actively escaping into the stacks.

Illarion's right in the thick of it for hours, first tirelessly triaging the mass into what should be cooked or preserved first, what will store well in the icebox, and what can be kept around on the shelves. Then he turns his hand to preparing the meat and fish for drying (and saving the fat from the richest cuts).

Once he's certain the most perishable items are taken care of, he sets aside some of the fat, honey, and berries for himself. Then he goes out hunting, pursuing the bugs and lizards loose in the Lobby and stacks. He's got no shame whatsoever about chasing them under furniture or up bookshelves, and soon has his sabertache full of squirmy tidbits.

Then it's back to the kitchen, to render the fat and make crunchy insect pemmican from his prizes.

(He's enough of a magpie he can't resist making off with some of the gems. There's someone out there who will look stunning in rubies and amber...)

((OOC: Feel free to use this as a jumping-off point for whatever you wanna do with your top levels! No need to tag Illarion -- go wild.

The spreadsheet above is fully editable -- feel free to put in what your guys take on tab 2 & I'll eventually get some automation going to track the item inventory and tab 1 will do inventory for us. Have fun!!))

Comments

Lightning Bugs

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus is tracking even those small signs of life, easy enough to find in this otherwise lifeless space. He pauses a bit away from the young man, seeing him try to... feed a flower to the bugs? (Said bugs are just as confused as he is.)

"They won't last long, in a container like that," he says softly. He can tell the young man is... distressed, about something or other. What, he's not sure.

[icanhearscreams]

It's less trying to feed the flower and more using it as a decoration, but the bugs are probably confused either way.

"Neither will people." He looks up at the other, shrugging. "But here we are."

He straightens up a bit and tries to pull himself together. "... It's common to do this where I'm from. I'll let them go at some point. ... I don't want them to die either."

[deinoswitch]

"Is it?" Dionysus moves to sit next to him- despite being a tall, grown man, he makes himself much closer to Jun's size when he sits. Even with the veil and black, he is more... approachable than he was. The butterflies sitting in his hair probably help.

He glances down at the jar, soothing the bugs within with the knowledge that they will be freed, before back up at the boy. "What is it for?"

[icanhearscreams]

... Huh. Did he - what the hell. Magic? Or just weird perception?

"Just... to look at. To be a light on dark nights." He looks down at them again. "... They're also said to be the spirits of warriors." He pauses for a moment.

No. That's stupid. "I know that's not real, though."

[deinoswitch]

"Ah." Yes. He is very familiar with grief, and it's clear that there's more to this than just the saying. The fireflies are calm in the jar now, still lighting up and adding a more... peaceful feeling to this.

"Does it need to be real?" he asks after a moment, "Or, I suppose, does it matter if it's not real? There can be a comfort in stories, even if we know the truth." Helpful lies; those are the kind witches specialize in.

[icanhearscreams]

"Reality's the only thing we can hang on to." He looks around at the books. "... Stories are... I don't know about the ones we go into, but stories in general aren't real. The real world doesn't end nicely like a lot of stories do."

He sets the jar down and pulls his knees in. "It ends in pain and fear, not 'happily ever after'."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus does not know this child's full story, but he can feel the pain coming off of him. He can make some guess. The souls of fallen warriors...

"Not always, no," he says, in agreement, "But that's part of what makes stories so wonderful. We can imagine things to be better than they are and ease our souls in them, delight at the wonder. And perhaps we can lose our pain in them for a little while and come out feeling a bit lighter."

[icanhearscreams]

"I don't let go of the real world easily. It was hard enough learning there were parallel versions of my world." Ugh, he's being too soft.

He huffs and looks up at the presumably new person. "And now we've got to deal with all of this."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus tips his head, taking the point. "True. But perhaps we can make something good of this all the same. To put aside our normal burdens for a time... it's not necessarily a bad thing. A break from our normal concerns. Some distance can aid our recovery."

[icanhearscreams]

Sounds fake but okay. "Recovery's a nice word. ... I don't know how much if it applies to me." He rocks the jar gently, trying not to scare the fireflies.

"It's for people who deserve it."

[deinoswitch]

Oh boy Dionysus has his work cut out for him, he can tell.

"Why would you not think you deserve it?" he asks, still and quiet and curious, a gentleness in his voice that's hard to fake. And there may well be something... relaxing about his presence, something that would make someone more likely to follow their emotions rather than their mind. (Whether it works in this place or not, he doesn't know.)

[icanhearscreams]

"Considering how many people I've killed? It doesn't matter if they were going to kill me if they could. We all did what we had to. But the blood's still on my hands."

He flinches for a moment, thinking of the battle. Of the screams - he can still hear them.

[deinoswitch]

This is something he's very familiar; witches often help soldiers with these conditions. He's very annoyed that he doesn't have any witch honey or any known way to procure it. It seems it is as needed here as anyway.

"It is a natural thing to want to survive, even at the cost of blood. And it is natural to feel the weight of that blood." Dionysus reaches out, gently laying a hand on the boy's arm- he'll pull back, if Jun doesn't welcome it. "That is part of being human. But it does not help to punish yourself for it. I know that is easier said than done."

[icanhearscreams]

He flinches but doesn't pull away - people here are so much more physical than what he's used to. "Of course it is. I'm not a soldier. I wasn't prepared for any of this. I was just a kid - we were all just..."

His head drops to his knees and he can feel himself start to cry. He doesn't want to, but he is. When was the last time he actually cried? He... can't really remember. "We all died. But somehow I'm here and I'm the only one of us who can remember their stories..."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus doesn't say anything for a few moments, rubbing soothing circles on the boy's back. It's important to get it out, and he's not sure how much the young man has allowed that of himself. Not if he's talking about it like this.

"...Would you like to share those stories?" he asks after a moment, "That way, it's not on you alone to remember them. And stories can outlast us all."

cw: it's bad please read the dropdown my son has every cw

[icanhearscreams]

"They're not mine to share..." But he takes a deep breath.

cw: child on child murder, child sexual abuse, pregnancy, suicide, gun violence involving children

"But... but what do I even tell you about? How Kako tried to run away from the battle, and Chizu killed him? How Chizu fought his battle but not before going after the teacher who raped her and got her pregnant?"

He hasn't told anyone about this other than their parents. What is he supposed to do? The tears aren't stopping. "How am I supposed to - I mean, what, my birth mother killed herself in front of me while my adopted sister was fighting? Or Machi -" He practically chokes on his own tears. "Machi got shot in the head and we had to - to take her off life support so I could fight." He looks at the fireflies, his vision blurred from crying and from his glasses fogging up.

"I saw the end of all of their stories. I'm - I'm the one left who has to deal with them. I'm the one who has to know... what happened to all of their lives..."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus keeps rubbing those circles, quiet and listening. He does not care for war in general, not the calculated mess mortals have made of it. He doesn't know what kind of war this... child was brought into, but he didn't ask for it. They never do.

He's a hard man to make angry, and even now he doesn't show it. But if those who did this have the misfortune to meet him, well. There's a reason he's one of the more feared of the gods.

Jun doesn't need that, though, so he lets the boy cry, keeps close enough to let him know he's not alone.

cw: suicidal ideation? idek anymore

[icanhearscreams]

He digs his fingers into Dionysus' himation, sniffling. He's not sure what to do. He feels sick when he thinks about it - his own problems don't even compare to some of the others. He's shaking and trying to control himself. He can't seem to.

"Don't - the others don't need to hear about this. If they did they'd think badly about them." If they think of them at all. "Please." He can't let people know. People don't need to know. He's got to maintain some kind of reputation. It's just that he can't think of what sort of reputation that is right now...

It's got to be stress. Stress is what's making him crack. Stress and stupid stories about bugs, stories that aren't real. "... They deserve to live more than I do."

Re: cw: suicidal ideation? idek anymore

[deinoswitch]

Jun’s probably half in Dionysus lap right now, but the witch doesn’t appear to mind that or the snot on his himation. He keeps that gentle, soothing touch, and there might be something cathartic about getting at least some of it out. Some of the story, some of the tears, some of the grief. Is it enough? Almost certainly not. But it’s a start.

“I don’t think people would think badly of them, but I won’t say anything. You have my word.” It’s not his to share, and witches keep their patients’ confidence. But there is a point that he is going to contest here still. “Everyone deserves to live; you did not deserve to have to live through that. You cannot weigh your life against theirs.”

[icanhearscreams]

He's not sure he's ever been this close to anyone. "... Good. They're not mine to tell except to the people they affect. They're mine to hold on to."

The statement gets a snotty chuckle out of him. "That's what everyone says." He's not sure he agrees, but... "It sucks. The whole situation is awful."

[deinoswitch]

"They affect you," Dionysus points out, "And so I think you could tell them, as they are part of your story now. As you say, they are not mine. But I will listen if you ever wish to speak of them." Just talking about things can help quite a bit. June clearly has a lot bottled up.

"It is." There is not denying that. "I am sorry you all had to go through it. Unfortunately, we cannot change the past. We can only figure out how to keep going forward."

[icanhearscreams]

"The only place I can go forward is here." He pulls back a little and wipes his face with his sleeve. "I'm dead at home. So there's nothing I can do but... be here."

Will it matter, in the end? He doesn't know.

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus can't help but think it's especially cruel to drag this young man here, deny him even the peace of crossing the Styx- of forgetting. But perhaps there is a purpose to this too. To make sure their stories are not forgotten yet.

"Is there something you wish to do here?" he coaxes gently, "I know we have little choice in the matter, but we can try to make the best of it. And we have each other to help do that."

[icanhearscreams]

He shrugs weakly, trying to clean his glasses with a part of his shirt he hasn't gotten dirty yet. It keeps smudging though... hm.

"I don't know. I thought I'd set everything as in order as I could before I went off to my battle... and it's not like I can do what I thought I'd be doing before we got dragged into that mess. I'm never going to be able to study at university, to help fish and other ocean wildlife... it's just not possible here."

[deinoswitch]

Dionysus... doesn't know what glasses are, but he's got some cloth in his bag and he'll hand a clean one over to him.

"Not in here, but perhaps in the Stories I've heard about. And you can always learn more about them in the meantime." There are plenty of books around.