HEARTGAME DRESS REHEARSAL

[finalbows]

thank u rah u hero

tracking sheet
 

[ ..somewhere in the pasture, Angel Devil falls down.
His clothes have twisted away into bone-white rags, leaving a body covered over with only thick swathes of red fur, and downy feathers. His long tail is curled into a tense arc, banded fur standing on end.

The air wavers like he’s a heat mirage, not a man. He’s boiling away with absolutely stupid amounts of arcane power… and, most frighteningly, he does not seem in control of the fact that it is there and being brought to bear. It’s impossible to get any closer to him.


When he speaks, it’s quite timid. ]

Ah,
I thought… I had a little more time.

[ (and in a blinding flash of light, there is the sound of something breaking.) ]

~KRRSHHK~

[any observers will see, strangely see-through and superimposed on the scene, some kind of vast tree, illusionary roots twisting over and around to frame a door.  the door itself is wrought of opaque stained glass in blacks and whites and greys; a stylized rendition of Angie in that strangely ragged, feathered form, curled in on himself, eyes closed.  Angie himself is nowhere to be seen. ]

instead, a shadow . . . steps into view from behind the door.  for a moment it looks like nothing so much as a second genome – then it turns, gaining features and definition with the movement.  The monkey tail separates into three plumes; a ponytail unfurls into wings that lift up from the sides of the head.  

Teleute(?) is here, dressed in her customary black, but there is colour in her skin, and her hair and eyes are blue.  she’s frowning.]

. . . well.  This is the least I can do before I go, in exchange for the safe harbor.

[she lifts her head, nodding to any observers, and gestures at the door.]

You’ll want to head in there now if you don’t wish to lose your flockmate, I think.  Even the false-death of this place won’t be much help to him, if his soul is left to finish pulling itself apart.

My sisters and I can maintain the way into and out of it for you, but we were not made to knit such wounds by ourselves.  Have a care.

Comments

[finalbows]

[ big. heavy. battleworn. even a warrior would need two hands to swing this.

kinda seems like it matches some of the big gouges she saw on all those Burmecian bones.]

[wants_the_phd]

[Oof. She can barely even lift this.]

Hey Terra, what's this thing?

[finalbows]

"Oh... That is a sword."




[ thank you, captain obvious. ]

[wants_the_phd]

So it seems. Do you know if this one has any particular significance to explain why it was hidden under the floor?

1/2

[finalbows]

[ she gets up to come to look at the spot Azdaja pulled it from closer. frowns. looks at... the Cosmos statue? ]


"Maybe... the owner was ashamed? But not willing to throw it away."

2/2

[finalbows]

[ oh fuck it's keith david again. ]

~ which mask to wear? ~

MASK OF SERVITUDE
"She swore an oath, and couldn't abandon it entirely."

MASK OF THE GUILTY
"She swore an oath, and let it lead her to do such terrible things."

[wants_the_phd]

[Both these choices are so unrelatable LMAO!!!]

[While she understands the concept of servitude, and understands the concept of upholding your end of a bargain, both of these things are conditioned on either getting a thing you want, or avoiding a thing you DON'T want. She doesn't understand being faithful to a concept just because a past version of yourself decided to. Situations change. Your understanding of the world changes. It's important to be flexible and allow your reactions to change, too.]

[You may also be surprised that she doesn't naturally feel much sense of guilt. Sure, sometimes she has made mistakes that have hurt herself or other people. Oh well! Not gonna feel bad about it.]

[Both of these options are very ????? in her opinion, but she does at least understand guilt is an emotion other people feel, and that it's a useful handhold when it comes to manipulating them. So we are going to choose the mask of the guily to see what that's like. What does guilt feel like to someone else, exactly?]

[finalbows]

[ Donned MASK OF THE GUILTY.

...

_{oh, no.}
It hits her like a torrent. It makes her gut drop like a stone. This is more than heavy, it's hurt, leeching her strength from her limbs and whispering not of her worthlessness, but of her power--

and how awful it is, that she has ever had some scrap of it to misuse.

you feel a burning in your eyes, herald of tears that want to fall but won't. ]

[wants_the_phd]

[Oh. She doesn't like it. Takes the mask off immediately. ]

...is this yours...

1/2

[finalbows]

[ all too easy, it comes off. Terra gently takes it from her. ]


"...Here. Don't wear it again. I... I can feel... that didn't feel very good, did it?"

[ she takes a few steps back, the guilty mask in hand. ]

"If it is mine... I'm so sorry it hurt you! It... seems like there's only one way to find out, for sure... but... _{[ with quiet resolve. ]} "...I can bear it."

[ she takes off her blue mask, and sets it down on the brim of Chaos' basin. ]

2/3

[finalbows]

[ the glimpse of her real face is brief. she looks young. just a bit past Sonata's age. ]

3/3

[finalbows]

[ she dons the red mask of the guilty. ]

[ and through a shift of perspective,
becomes someone else. ]


"...

...Give me my sword."

[wants_the_phd]

[Azdaja holds it a little closer, feeling even more unnerved suddenly.]

What're you gonna do with it? You don't need to wear that mask either, you know. Your other one was perfectly fine.

[finalbows]

[ the woman that just find-replaced Terra turns to scrutinize Azdaja with the studied serenity of someone who knows they can obliterate her in an instant. not even smug about it, either. just a neutral fact. ]


"And what knave are you, to refuse a knight her sworn blade? I do commend your courage."

[ quick check, where's the Rose mask hanging out rn? ]

[wants_the_phd]

[I guess the rose mask went back onto her inventory when she took the mask of the guilty -- a decision she is now regretting. She's not putting it on because she is trying to remain as non-threatening as possible. Not that Beatrix would ever be threatened, but, y'know.]

[Anyway, AZDAJA feels threatened. She shuffles back a little more.]

I'm worried you going to hurt this place. Or me.

So? What are you going to do with this?

[finalbows]

"With that sword...
...I will end these Cycles of war for good."

[wants_the_phd]

[Azdaja looks like she's about to hand it over right there.

But...]


...What will happen to Révérence?

1/2

[finalbows]

"...That man is my enemy.
He beckoned her Highness into her grave...
And lives on now only as the servant of further evil."

[ she stalks closer, scattering the rose petals Terra had carefully swept up into a neat pile, passing by the unbroken pew. ]


"And now... he even steals her beloved roses as a symbol of his own...
...but that's all my own grudge. Protecting the many is far more important.
Forgive me. But I'll stain my hands one more time with sin."

[ remember the bit about the pew?
--she reaches out with her shoe to hook the pommel of Terra's sword, and flips it up into her hand in one neat motion. oh, god. oh geez. ]

"Now! On your guard!"

2/2

[finalbows]

[ THANK FUCK FOR KEITH DAVID STOPPING TIME, ACTUALLY ]

~ which mask to wear? ~

MASK OF CRUELTY
"Fuck you with your 'on your guard,' TAKE THE CHEAPEST SHOT YOU CAN."

MASK OF FATE
"uh. it's BEATRIX. you get your ass beat."

[wants_the_phd]

[Hey Keith David, did you know? Azdaja can wear both these masks at the same time. She can combine them into one, even.]

[When Beatrix steps into a fighting stance, Azdaja instantly drops the sword and backs away to the other side of the room, hands up in surrender,

as the Rose mask materializes on her face like a shield.]

He's already dead, and he doesn't even want to fight for Chaos any more. He's no longer a threat to Gaia.

[finalbows]

"That mask... what petty mockery. Days gone by... I would have struck you down for daring to wear it before me."

[ she bends down to retrieve her sword. ]

"Besides... if that is even true... One without the will to fight is as good as gone already."

[wants_the_phd]

Are civilians that meaningless to you?

[finalbows]

"..."

[ she hesitates.
she's wearing that mask of guilt for a reason. ]

[wants_the_phd]

In the eyes of my culture, my life is utterly worthless, simply due to circumstances of my birth. I don't want to fight you, and I don't care about Chaos or Cosmos. I just want to live. And, for better or worse, he's one of the few people in this world who even acknowledges my existence.

He may be a terrible person, but he's nothing to you anymore, and he's helping wretched, worthless people like me who don't have anything else. So if you give even a single shit about "the good of the people," then help me.

[finalbows]

[ ...the knight-general lowers her sword,
and shifts into a parade rest stance, sword held in a perfect line before her, the sharp tip just barely above the creaky wood floor.


"...Tell me your name, worthless Rose."