epidemiology | EVENT ▸ FINAL LOG

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EVENT ▸ FINAL LOG

RECOLLECTION DAY

The next few days following Mission: Drakstaden sees Headquarters transformed into a celebratory atmosphere. Although the Cataclysm had been solved by the Merging, Hathaway's connection to ALASTAIR means that Recollection Day is still celebrated yearly: a festival honoring those whose universes were torn apart by the Cataclysm and the centuries of instability that followed.

However, post-Merging, Recollection Day has taken on a different tone; instead of solemn and pensive, the mood is celebratory and triumphant, honoring the members of ALASTAIR who helped the multiverse merge. Accordingly, former members of ALASTAIR have been invited to Headquarters to be honored, so those who have been around for awhile may see some familiar faces.

The statue honoring those who lost their lives during the war between ALASTAIR and Zymandis is wreathed in flowers, and the fountains in the promenade have been dyed so when the water jets up it's in a rainbow of beautiful colors. Apart from the decorations, there are food vendors throughout the promenade selling a variety of dishes from across the multiverse. You'll find something you like, make no mistake, but you might have to wade through weird alien delicacies before you find it!

Inside the training simulator, the settings have been configured to resemble a pool party, complete with a swim-up bar (stocked with tropical drinks, pineapple, and coconuts) and tiki torches. The alcohol at the simulated party will get you nice and inebriated as long as you stay inside the simulator, though once you exit it, you'll instantly be sober. No hangovers!

For those who aren't interested in the louder types of celebration, there is a gentler activity available: there is a new clutch of squidges that have arrived from planet Zeta-12. These alien babies are made of a transluscent material similar to gelatin, with beady black eyes and short limbs. The squidges communicate with wordless gurgling, weigh about seven pounds, and need lots and lots of attention. A small habitat has been constructed for them, with grasses and small trees to explore; it's big for a baby squidge but the size of a small playground for an adult, so if babysitting is what you're into, don't worry -- you won't get lost!

Otherwise, the rest of Headquarters is open to explore. Some Hathaway employees might need help putting decorations up, others may invite you to try an unknown dish with them, and still others might want help finding a temporary place to train since the training simulator is occupied. There's plenty to do and plenty to celebrate, so get busy!

▸ EPILOGUE

As the celebration winds down and partygoers begin to filter away and return to work, it's a perfect time for current and former members of Guild Ophelia (and the visiting members of the former Team Audentes) to reflect on this whirlwind adventure they've been part of.

Countless worlds, timelines, and universes have been forever altered by your work; for better or worse, every member has left their permanent mark on the Timeline.

As Headquarters drifts silently through space, stars and galaxies slipping past in the windows, word comes to some Ophelia members through their magitek: your incentive has been achieved, and you may leave Hathaway's employ with your earned reward. It might be sooner than expected (or very welcome news), but if you wish to end your multiversal adventure, now's your chance. Otherwise, you can decline and continue on with Hathaway for as long as you wish.

For those who don't receive the message, it's business as usual. The party is over, and so it's back to work: there will always be trouble out there, and Hathaway will always be there to do what it can to help the citizens of the multiverse.

▸ OOC NOTES

This is the final log of Futurology. We hope you enjoyed your time in the game!

As stated in the SOTG post, characters who have been dropped may return for this log! Characters who did not permadrop are assumed to have been transferred to a different guild within Hathaway, and may therefore be present for the celebration. If they were permadropped/retired, you may handwave that they were invited back to Headquarters for the party.

Journals will not be removed from the game communities; you are free to make logs, posts, or continue threading for as long as you like.

The mod team would like to take this time extend a sincere thank you to everyone who ever played in Futurology. Without you, the journey wouldn't have been the same!

▸ State of the Game ▸ Mod Contact ▸ Hathaway Headquarters

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Keith debates for only a moment before he walks toward Loki and plants his hand firmly on his shoulder. Whereas this was somewhat of a reach before, now Keith's hand doesn't have to go quite as far. When Keith's eyes tilt up toward Loki's, it's an easy way of expressing himself.

The action is meant to comfort. He can see that Loki needs it.]

Soon. I guess. It'll depend on Lance and Allura. On where we all stand. And how many people I have to say good-bye to.

[Keith feels like that list is all too long.]

[ even the contact feels a little strange. Loki casts a glance at one of the hands on his shoulders, and a sigh escapes from parted lips. he takes Keith's arm at the elbow, sliding dark nailed fingers to his wrist, and holding him there for a long, pregnant moment.

Keith finishes his sentence, and Loki's already stopped listening. it trails off somewhere between guess and Allura. the space between them is suddenly filled, and Loki clips off the last of his sentence with a kiss.

it's not invasive, but it is intense. there are some ways that Loki finds it easier to release his grip, and this is one of them. ]

[The feeling that cuts through Keith is strange and unfamiliar. It takes him a moment to lean into it, fingers coming to brush and feather over Loki's cheek. He doesn't know how to feel about it, but there's a familiar twisting in his stomach, a feeling he's had before with Lance.

(With Shiro. He's very aware of the latter now.)

His eyebrows pinch as he draws back, surprised.]

Loki ... [There's a lot he can say here, but he doesn't know how to put it to words.

Other than "I have a boyfriend" but Keith is smart enough to know those standards don't really apply to Loki.]

[ the motions are easy to fall into, and as Keith leans in Loki finds little ways to weave around him. he settles with an arm hanging at his waist, the other still on his wrist. for him, there's no hesitation, but he never had many hang-ups about following through on his passions.

he doesn't move that far back. ]

Are you curious? You'll leave wondering.

[ about this, perhaps. ]

It always feels like there's something holding you back.

From kissing you? [Keith takes a step back, as if he's trying to process that and he needs space.] You think there's something holding me back from kissing you? [His brow furrows. That's not exactly a sentiment that Keith has considered before.]

[ it's easy enough to slip from him, and Loki puts his hands behind his head casually. ]

In general—but right now, perhaps.

[ more seriously, he considers him. ]

It's like a little bit of hesitation.

[If anything, Loki does have a knack for pushing Keith to say what he's skirting around. No one else will ever have that ability locked down quite the same way.]

I just spent two years with my mom. On a space whale. That's two years without Lance. Who just lost his eye!

[ that's better. ]

I'm not asking you to forget about any of that, nor Lance. Especially not Lance. [ there's a moment where he shifts his feet, and looks uncharacteristically uncomfortable. ] I'm not the best at caring about people. I can't say I'll get ever used to it.

But I care about you, and after this, there will be no more chances.

...

[ there's a pause, for once not for dramatic effect. ]

Sometimes time moves slow, and sometimes it moves fast. Sometimes we never are never given the opportunity again.

What do you mean—there'll be no more chances? [Within the last twenty four hours of Keith's life, he's nearly been beaten to death by Shiro and learned that Shiro was actually dead the entire time. And then he's been brought back. And then he has to go back home. Oh, and he's at peace with piloting the Black Lion, because it's what was required at the time.]

Loki—what aren't you telling me?

[ where to start? ]

I suppose I should have told you what Hathaway promised me when I had the chance.

[ time is such an odd thing, even to a god who has so much of it. it never really feels like that. it's ironic, isn't it? he pushed too far, even when Keith had scrambled to help. ]

Edited 2018-06-22 18:44 (UTC)

Tell me what it is. You don't have to take them on their offer. That's just a promise to—to make it worthwhile. [Keith's already given up on his own incentive, as it's completely irrelevant now. There are other things he can ask for, other things he can push for, but right now, he's more focused on whatever it is that's happening to Loki.

After Shiro ... he's terrified of losing someone else like that. And this time, he doubts there's going to be a way to set things right.]

[ there's a glance over his shoulder, surveying the light crowd of people around them before beckoning him off. he's not going to talk about his own existential trauma here; there are some things that are far, far too personal.

he figures Keith will follow. ]

Aye, and that's just it, it does make it worthwhile. [ then, to himself. ] Where do I begin?

[ he turns a corner to where and crowd thins out. ]

You have to understand that my existence is not the same as yours. Mortals are real, and me? I'm made up of stories, told over lifetimes. My existence is more far more precarious.

[Keith follows, but he loses his patience before long. Loki has explained the nature of his existence to Keith several times before. That doesn't make it easier to hear that Loki is essentially ... saying good-bye. For good. That there will be no Loki visiting Keith's universe.]

I know all this. Get to the point. [He's impatient because he's hurting, reeling from this reveal.]

[ he stops, then looks at him. ]

An evil Loki from the future is trying to change my story. He can't make me what he is, not anymore, but I have to find him.

[ a pause. ]

I have to stop him, and in doing that, I don't know if I'll be the same anymore. I'll be Loki, I'll always be Loki, but ...

Is it worth stopping an evil version of yourself if the people you came to care for don't matter anymore? [It may seem like a shallow understanding. Keith knows that. But he knows how Allura had to face finding out that a version of herself had begun to control and subjugate people, turning them into slaves for a "better future."]

Being Loki isn't enough.

[ what a difficult question to answer. he hasn't done this caring for people thing long, but he knows his restrictions with his own freedom. everyone else ... well, that adds an added layer to something that he wasn't certain he was prepared for, anyway. ]

It's worth stopping an evil version—or rather, versions, now—of myself if everyone I care for is safe? He destroys Earth, Keith, all of it, and the other Nine Realms if he's feeling capable.

[ he leans back against the wall, crossing his ankles. ]

The last time I went back, he forced me to re-live his memories, and through the spell that forced truth from my mouth, destroyed my relationship with the only person who believed in me. I was beaten, exiled, and discarded. Partially by my own fault, but certainly on his whims.

If he's out there then everything I love is in danger, including you.

Edited 2018-06-22 23:48 (UTC)

[Keith grimaces as Loki goes on, using words that Keith himself can understand well. The only person who believed in me. When Shiro had been turned into someone else with Haggar's power, he had become someone who didn't believe in Keith. He dug deep to hurt him while they fought. He had been so blinded by his need to save Shiro that he hardly let the words settle in until later.

Loki's words wound now as a result.]

Does Thor know what you're giving up? [There's a shaky rasp to his voice, too heated to push away his emotions. He can't handle what Loki is telling him, and the trauma of the last day and more creeps up on him and overwhelms him.]

I know why you'd want to do that. But I won't let it happen. I can't.

[ when did this get so hard?

something tugs in his chest, creating a hollow, strange feeling that he usually knows as a constant rather than variable. it's a strong pang, multiplied by Keith's insistence.

awkwardly, with more gentleness than he knows that's in him. ] When I returned, I didn't do so for long, I knew some things—I know that the world as I know it collapses and is rebuilt, I know that I'm still alive as Loki somewhere, though not what that means ...

[ he hadn't asked Thor, and he doesn't intend to. ]

Just because I don't know what will change, doesn't mean that every piece of me will be ripped away. [ he hopes. ] Of course you don't have to let anything happen, you remember me like this, that means that you already hold some of it ...

I suppose I just—ah ... [ it's always strange when he's at a loss for words. ] Want you to remember me, like I am, and that part of me that's remembered by Keith can always be part of what I become. Like I told you, my existence isn't built on hard rules, and memories are not just sentiments. Not to me.

They're stories. They ground me. Whatever the future holds for Loki, I want to keep loving people.

[ for Ahad. for Dany. for Keith and for Thor. for Verity, all the way back home. and for himself. ]

I won't let that go.

[How is it that Keith's ended up with so many people to hold on to these days? He has his mother. He has Shiro. He has the other paladins. And then he has the people here: Rey, Loki, Ahad, Nines, and more. Knowing that eats away at him. It's worse because he nearly lost Shiro. He held on to him as tightly as he could, even with the world crumbling around him. Keith hadn't wanted to die. He felt like he could maybe find a way to live, and it's likely that which reached out to the Black Lion and asked for help, even subconsciously.

Now he stands here, about to lose Loki. Sheer determination won't do it. He just has to remember him always.

How is he supposed to forget? Loki had been everything Keith needed. He was his friend. And in turn, this was what Loki was asking of him.]

Come to my world. Before you go back to yours, come to mine. [It'll be hard to explain to everything precisely what happened. He still doesn't know what Lance might be waiting for him there, at the end of it all.

Or what Shiro.]

I want your memory to exist to the people I care about. I—I want you to meet my mom. Okay?

[ lose is not how he would put it, but there is no word for the ego-death that he knows looms nearer and nearer to him. from the good and the bad he's seen of himself, he knows that he can't continue the same sick cycle of Loki is not enough, and so he elects for something different.

it hurts when there are casualties like Keith, who always thought that he was enough. ]

...

Okay.

[ there's a swell in his chest that he normally finds uncomfortable. he doesn't like feeling vulnerable, but as he hones in on the tightness and the breath loss, it isn't so bad.

a smile he can't hide creeps on his lips. it doesn't suit his face, because it's genuine. ]

You know how to call for me, don't you?

[Keith thinks back to trying to reach out to Shiro in the Black Lion. He made a mistake in not asking for Black's help, but he was too fatigued and traumatized to really do anything else. He's barely conscious of the decision now.

He thinks about it because, let's be real: that's precisely how Keith would reach out to Loki. He would scream for him until he showed up.

That's probably not how to do it.]

I don't. Tell me how to do it.

[ there's a slight shift in the way he holds himself, putting some weight on his opposite hip. he pauses, just briefly, and then says: ]

You pray.

[ there's no tension in his voice, no hint of awkward sarcasm. the words seem genuine. ]

I can hear prayers, and I know where they come from. If you need me, and you pray, I can find you.

What if I don't need you? [Keith isn't the most tactful person, but he doesn't know how else to say it. Asking for Loki just because he's a friend doesn't count as "needing" him. That might not do the trick.]

Will it be less powerful?

[ even while Loki's not good at it, he does it anyway—he reaches out for Keith's shoulder, setting a hand there. it feels odd, but not unwelcome. he gives him a little squeeze for a good measure. ]

Keith, if you're calling for me—praying for me—then you need me.

[ that's no less need in Loki's book, and there aren't many other books that matter. ]

It's just a different kind of need.

Then ... I'll call for you. [There's a stutter of hesitation in his voice, but it passes. Keith relaxes under the grip of Loki's hand. For him, it's a familiar feeling, something that indicates how he likes comfort. It means a lot to him that Loki has picked up on it.]

How do you feel about road trips through space?

EVENT ▸ FINAL LOG

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