[ Ah, what a suspicious subject change... something definitely happened. ]
Yeah. I'm grateful for it. I think we all need a chance to rest after everything that happened. It's been chaotic ever since the carnival... [ And the masks. ]
[ You mean aside from lowkey avoid his not-exactly-boyfriend? ]
Mostly, I've just tried to stay busy. I find it easier if I'm occupied.
[ For the first time he sounds a little distant. But gently, softly. Not bitter, or detached exactly, just... well, in a moment, he pulls in a breath and recovers a little. ]
[ For the first time in this conversation, Yu sounds completely serious as he answers a question with a question, taking the edge off its rhetorical nature by keeping his tone gentle: ]
Would anyone be completely okay after all of that? [ A beat. ] Everyone's recovering as best they can.
[ He actually just goes quiet at that. Thinks of what he shared with Rei while there. What Athena saw of his own memories combined with her own, how she blacked out to the point he had to send her to sleep. How Rapunzel felt guilty when she didn't need to. Shigeru's memories.
Everything was everyone else.
He's, ironically, almost been through worse and still joked about it. Probably not the best person to ask, Yu. ] ...I suppose so.
[ He doesn't want this to be just about him, and in fact feels a little strange with the conversation focused on himself. The slight hesitation in Merlin's voice doesn't go without his notice, either. ]
I meant if you'd... done anything to try and get over everything. [ Echoing Merlin's phrasing with some small humor. ] But I'm glad you're feeling better.
There wasn't anything to get over. [ Thankfully you can't hear shrugs, but his voice is flat enough that it doesn't sound like he's lying. There's no intonation to say otherwise. ]
Alright. [ He says it naturally enough, though internally, he's a little surprised. People died out there. The room with the mirrors, the mechanical creatures, slowly starving, friends suffering from the mask effects...
Did no one close to Merlin suffer? Was he simply lucky? Or... was he just not affected by it? What does that say about the kind of person he is? No matter how he looks at it, it seems like it has to be the latter, and it makes him wonder. Merlin seems like a nice person - not at all like someone who doesn't care. So why...
... hm. ]
Have you been managing to eat? A friend of mine got sick because he ate too much too quickly.
[ Well considering the mirrors... he was more worried about other peoeple. Everything he's gone through are things he's passed. He has no idea anyone died, no one he knew did anyway. He fought off the mechanical creatures and got away unscathed every time. He didn't starve. He broke Athena out of her mask effects, and Rapunzel still helped him.
Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's the fact that he's too used to life being hell.
Maybe it's because he can't and won't let anyone die from hunger or thirst. No one who stuck with him suffered that. ]
[ Now that actually does manage to surprise him, enough to make him pause for a beat of time. No one he knew managed to find any food that they hadn't accidentally managed to bring with them, that wasn't luckily scavenged from the terrain, or ... hunted from the disgusting monsters in the cave systems below. None of those options were good or reliable, or enough to really sustain anyone. ]
My magic is from the Old Religion, it's deeply cemented with the earth, everything being connected. That place was pretty devoid of life though, so I have to pull from outside of that, from myself.
No? If anything like this ever happens again, you're welcome to travel with us, Merlin. No one should have to be alone, especially not in circumstances like that.
Yeah, of course. But I was actually referring to something specific. I had a conversation with Mosley-san yesterday.
... that's fair. If you ever need it, though, the offer's there. [ There's a smile in his voice. ]
That's right, you might not have spoken to him. He works for CERES, doing public relations. He's a valuable source of information, if you ask the right questions. [ A beat, and somewhat ruefully: ] That's the challenge, of course.
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[ Wait. ]
"Not necessarily"?
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[ !! ]
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Yeah. I'm grateful for it. I think we all need a chance to rest after everything that happened. It's been chaotic ever since the carnival... [ And the masks. ]
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Have you done anything to try and get over... everything? [ "Everything". A very broad term, here. ]
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Mostly, I've just tried to stay busy. I find it easier if I'm occupied.
[ For the first time he sounds a little distant. But gently, softly. Not bitter, or detached exactly, just... well, in a moment, he pulls in a breath and recovers a little. ]
That, and catch up with my friends.
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But he can understand catching up with people, even if not all of his meetings were happy. At least not at the start. Some have been...
Let's not talk about those. ]
Are they all alright? [ That's what he asks instead. ]
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Would anyone be completely okay after all of that? [ A beat. ] Everyone's recovering as best they can.
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Everything was everyone else.
He's, ironically, almost been through worse and still joked about it. Probably not the best person to ask, Yu. ] ...I suppose so.
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[ He doesn't want this to be just about him, and in fact feels a little strange with the conversation focused on himself. The slight hesitation in Merlin's voice doesn't go without his notice, either. ]
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[ His voice sounds lighter at least these time, even laughing a little afterwords. ]
I'm fine and dandy, all I needed was rest. [ Even after falling through the ground, yes. ]
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It was just tiring.
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Did no one close to Merlin suffer? Was he simply lucky? Or... was he just not affected by it? What does that say about the kind of person he is? No matter how he looks at it, it seems like it has to be the latter, and it makes him wonder. Merlin seems like a nice person - not at all like someone who doesn't care. So why...
... hm. ]
Have you been managing to eat? A friend of mine got sick because he ate too much too quickly.
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Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's the fact that he's too used to life being hell.
Maybe it's because he can't and won't let anyone die from hunger or thirst. No one who stuck with him suffered that. ]
I had food while I was there.
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You did? What did you find?
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I created it. Food. Water. I asked Viridi to help anyone who stumbled upon her hiding place too. But you should have heard that.
[ From the telepathy... thing. ]
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I did. About Viridi, anyway. I didn't know about your powers. That's incredible.
[ He says it quietly. There's no particular inflection to his voice, but in actuality, he's stunned. To have that kind of power... ]
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[ ...Then sheepishly: ] I passed out a few times.
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... ]
I'm just glad it's over. As nice as it would be if these things stopped happening, it doesn't seem like we'll be that lucky.
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Still, it's better things are better than then. Though I doubt it will last. Enjoy the time we have and all that, right?
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Yeah, of course. But I was actually referring to something specific. I had a conversation with Mosley-san yesterday.
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Mosley-san? [ He only heard from him when he arrived and he's........ already forgotten since then okay. ]
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That's right, you might not have spoken to him. He works for CERES, doing public relations. He's a valuable source of information, if you ask the right questions. [ A beat, and somewhat ruefully: ] That's the challenge, of course.
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