middleofsomewhere | Event: 12 of Beetroot

Event: 12 of Beetroot

It's been a couple of weeks since they had evacuated Osiga. In that time, many of voidtreckers were busy with a project to try and solve some of the many mysteries that surround the train they travel on. By the eight day of Rabbit they've exhausted all avenues, and whilst they have learned quite a bit, there are still some clear gaps.

Just as that investigation comes to a natural end, passengers are woken up by an announcement.

"Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express. We are travelling to system #2554098133741. I have sent word to the ministry who have arranged recuperation packs for you. You have had a difficult mission and you deserve a rest.

But it is not just for rest. Last time we visited the system voidtreckers shared memories. Though it is understood that many of you did not enjoy the experience it is notable that certain voidtreckers saw memories of this voidcraft. They were memories that this craft had not accessed. It led to more pathways opening up in the operation of this craft.

I have done some research on the system and I believe we can trigger the caves of memory. This voidcraft understands this might be difficult for the voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express and it is hoped that only those of you who consent to this experiment will take part.

Regardless this should be a time for relaxation also and the dressing room is open for your convenience. We will arrive in the morning.

The dressing carriage is indeed opened for those who go and look. It's filled with swimming costumes, beach ware, summery clothes and sun hats. There's even a cupboard of buckets, spades, rock pooling gear and picnic blankets.

There are also team coloured tents for those who want to go and sleep under the stars for a night or two, though the train is remaining on the island for those for who camping is their idea of hell.

12 OF BEETROOT

RABBIT 9-12 ~ MEMORY CAVES: BONDING ~ MEMORY MAZE: SEARCH FOR THE TRAIN'S MEMORIES
ASK QUESTIONS ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ MEMORY CAVES ~ MEMORY MASTER POST

JEMA'GRETHY ISLAND: RELAXATION

The next day the train announces their arrival and they burst out of the void. For those near a window their first view of the island will be of crystal blue sea and white sand. It really does look like a paradise. The train circles down before landing on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance.

In a word, it is idyllic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

The recuperation packs are found at the closest toilet facilities to where the train lands. They are simple things, small gift baskets with a couple of fragrant soaps, fancier hair products and skin cream infused with herbs to encourage rest and sleep.

There are some sweet fruit biscuits and a cheesy bread. The packs aren't named but there are some suitable for the younger passengers with tiny plush and colouring books. Quite a few designed for teens with a more engaging activity book and components for making a fancy mocktail with a cute stirrer. Adult packs have a small bottle of alcohol- there's a mixture between the packs and what looks like a stone. When placed next to the skin it will either warm up or cool down depending on what is needed.

Exploring, the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles, perfect for rock pooling.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

MEMORY CAVES: BONDING

Shortly before arriving they will receive some information on their SCA. It will explain how those who once lived on this island went about making life bonds. Both people would bathe in the hot springs and then dress simply, barefoot and walk to one of seven rocks on the island. Their maps will pin point these, which is good because there's no real indication of what makes these rocks different to any other on the island.

Here they must offer their wish to know the other deeper and share food and drink. They can then go about their day. Sometime in the hours after they will receive their first memory, seen through their partners eyes.

However it seems that in envoking the ritual they have woken something on the island. Even those who did not take part or chose to bond to someone find themselves seeing a glimpse of another life.

On the second day they see another memory, through the eyes of their pair. When they come out of it they find themselves in a cave with their partner, chosen or not. The same happens on the third day, except for this final memory both pairs see both memories, watching from the sidelines as it plays out. They find themselves in the cave once more and this time, for many there is only one exit, to leave through together.

Please go here to play out the bonding process!

MEMORY MAZE: TRAIN'S MEMORIES

On the third day the train sends another message to their SCA.

"Activating the caves that share memories has been successful. I know this is a lot to ask of the voidtreckers, but any who wish to assist in discovering what it is that I have forgotten, the path is open now.

Those who wish to may go to the sacred rocks. Please be warned, I do not know how voidtreckers will fare. Please only go of your own free will."

Their SCA's once again show the rocks on their maps and when they get there, this time they are faintly glowing. It doesn't take much. One touch and their minds are drawn away from their bodies, into a labyrinth of caves. For anyone who comes across these people on the island, they look like they are in a deep trance, breathing, safe but far away in their mind.

The labyrinth is made of cool, dark rock. The walls have a glow coming from crystals in-bedded in them, allowing everyone to see as they move through.

At first there's no more to this labyrinth, or so it seems. But then they turn a corner, and they are no longer in cavern as it just was. They may be in their childhood bedroom, or in the middle of a battle they once fought. Perhaps they are not in their own memory, but someone else's. Scenes move rapidly and often merge, one persons into another, mixing to make strange scenes.

These visions don't attempt to ensnare them like some illusions, and those with protection from illusions and such techniques, will be able to find their way forward through the cave, and away from this triggered scenario.

Time barely has meaning. Indeed, when they finally emerge from the caves only a few minutes will have passed. But in that time they will have seen much, and eventually they may stumble across a fragment of memory that belongs not to a voidtrecker, but to the Voidtrecker Express itself.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions
~ You can either write memories in your tags or if they are longer/require a lot of content warnings you might want to write them in this post and link to them. Just start a top level with your character name to keep things organised!

~ For those taking part in the memory share bonding the cave post is here. Characters arrive in the cave after the second and third memory but it is obviously up to you if you play out the conversations after each or both! For those who do decide that their characters will bond- the cave after the third memory will only have one exit for them to leave together.

~ For those who signed up for train memories you will receive the snippet that your character sees- use these in tags as you will. There will be a conclusion post on the 24th which will put all of those memories together!

Art Credits: Header: Tropical Jewel by Steven Power, Thumbnail image 3.

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Mort scrambles to Thanatos's shoulder and waves at Alice, trying to signal that he needs backup for helping Thanatos. He doesn't want to resort to biting his earlobe quite so soon. Mort doesn't think it'll help in this case.

"Gods aren't supposed to be the victim. Especially to a human's tricks," Thanatos says quietly. "And that still doesn't change what they thought of me... think of me. And I encouraged that for a time because it helped to repair the damage done to the image of the Underworld."

After a moment, he adds, "And, it kept most of them away from me. I didn't need to get close."

Don't worry, Mort. Alice is right here, ready to help Thanatos. She never stands for it when someone important to her is just standing around there and saying such negative things about themselves - especially in the light of a trauma.

Alice has enough trauma herself to realise that it's never right for the victim to blame themselves. It's not right. They're never to blame.

"Thanatos, listen to me."

She will attempt to grab his hand. He can easily bat her hand away if he wants to, but if Thanatos does nothing, then Alice will latch onto it and tightly hold said hand between them. But even if he rejects the gesture, she will still speak on, her fierce gaze aimed right at him.

It's like the girl is brimming with determination in this moment. She's just that passionate about this particular subject.

"You were a victim." She will repeat that as many times as possible. "Something bad was done to you. Regardless of whether you are a god or a human or a centaur for all I care, that is never alright! Even if you had done some things wrong, or if you encouraged it-- punishment or self-admonishment still never suits the victims of a crime!"

Thanatos still doesn't understand the idea of trauma and that he was a victim of it. The subject almost came up before, but the topic ended just shy of realization. He directs his gaze towards his hand in Alice's. He wouldn't bat away her touch unless she tried to restrain him. She knows better.

"That's... that's not how things work in my world." He thinks of the mortals who caught the fancy of a god (Zeus) and how they were punished by another god (Hera) despite it not being their fault. He thinks of the mortals suffering under Demeter for something they had no part in. He thinks of Zagreus facing Hades's wrath for what? Because Hades misses his Queen? Because Zagreus exists?

However... as Thanatos thinks that, he reflects on how he doesn't blame those mortals and especially Zagreus. Then... if he applied that to himself...?

He doesn't know how to process this new idea. It's so unnatural to him after having done so for such a long time. Mort squeaks softly, but even that is not enough to get Thanatos to respond.

It's not how things work in many worlds, Alice thinks. After all - isn't her world the exact same? She was a victim, traumatized and abandoned by the system. Many other victims died, while the culprit of it all thrived, given honour and wealth from society.

"Just because things might work a certain way, does not mean that they are fair."

Maybe it's the way Thanatos seems so lost in thoughts at this moment that makes Alice speak those words very slowly, like she doesn't want to overload him with them.

But he still ought to hear them. They're important.

"Not everyone who is granted power is as dutiful as you. Many abuse that power in order to oppress and hurt others, while those who get hurt are forgotten, alongside their pain."

For as different as she and Thanatos are in some ways, they do share that, don't they?

"Your pain.. It was awful. And it mattered. It should have. You should have gotten time to recover from it." Rather than being forced to get right back to work.

"... I don't know. I thought I got over it, but being on the train made all those memories come back." Thanatos confronted his mother and Lord Hades over what happened to him, what didn't happen. He, at least realizes that it shouldn't have happened as it did, that he should have been found much sooner than he did. There has been progress in that area at least.

"Some of the people I've talked to about it seem to suggest that I should forgive Sisyphus because he deserves a second chance or is not as bad as he was." And that's the confusing part of all. How does he account for his own feelings when it seems like others are telling him that he should be okay with Sisyphus now. When he wants absolutely nothing to do with Sisyphus and fears this "change" is another one of his tricks.

"You should never forgive him."

.. okay, maybe that came a little strong out of the gate. But Alice can't help it. As someone who has been hurt in a very similar way as Thanatos, Alice can't even imagine ever forgiving the person who did that to you.

She sure didn't. It's why she killed that person out of revenge instead. And to keep others safe from what he did.

Alice may be realising that she was a little intense there for a moment though. It's why her expression slackens a little after a moment, her grip on his hands loosening, though not letting go. She at least wants to respect Thanatos and his ability to make his own decisions, so..

".. Unless you would want to, of course."

(But revenge is better.)

Well, there really isn't anything Thanatos can do to Sisyphus. No revenge he can take. Sisyphus is already dead and doomed to push a boulder up a hill in Tartarus for all eternity. Only... that ceased to be a punishment because Sisyphus seems to find enjoyment from doing so and doesn't fear the Furies or the gods, again. He "helps" Zagreus, but Thanatos can't stop himself from suspecting the worse, that Sisyphus is tricking Zagreus by earning his trust. And somehow his mother as well for her to make him a Chthonic Companion to give to Zagreus....

"... You're the only person I've talked to that hasn't tried to convince me to accept Sisyphus." Alice is also the first person he's talked to who seems to really understand his perspective. "He didn't just... He didn't just hurt me. He hurt so many around the world. Sisyphus could have stopped it, but he didn't."

He shakes his head, and Mort gives him a nuzzle to the chin. "I don't want anything to do with that man anymore, but there's no escaping from him." Thanatos is still trapped, just by a different means.

Oh, now she seems to get it.

Or at least part of it. She already thought that it was so strange for people here to tell Thanatos to accept that guy, or to even forgive him. It seems so cruel, not thinking about Thanatos' feelings in the slightest. It's almost enough to make her angry.

But now she sees that maybe some of those people were angling for something else. Because Thanatos is still caught up in his past, exactly like how Alice was for the longest time. Like how she still is, some days.

"You can move on without forgiving him." It's important that Thanatos knows that, she thinks. "I know that still is not easy. But to leave that all behind in the past, you do not have to forgive him, or even accept him. You can choose to move on with your life and refuse to let him be even a single part of that, or even a single thought in your mind."

Like Alice says - she knows it's not that easy. She still thinks about Bumby sometimes, though she imagines less so than Thanatos thinks about Sisyphus, probably.

But she just wants him to know the option exists at all, even if it's not an easily accessible one.

"It's not easy when the people you love seem to trust that he's changed, trust him." Thanatos knows he has no jurisdiction over Sisyphus's sentence. There is no reason why anyone should have to consult him on the matter. It hurts not to have been considered. He knows he wasn't, wouldn't because Thanatos wouldn't have agreed to the change, wouldn't have agreed to his mother making a Chthonic Companion for Sisyphus to give to Zagreus.

"And the mortals all know of the tale. A mortal king cheated, captured Death." He gives a shake of his head. "Or they think that Sisyphus captured Lord Hades instead of me despite that not making any sense. Regardless, they know I can be bested. I'm not allowed to forget him."

The latter point is something she feels like she's already touched on with Thanatos - just a little bit. It edges close to issues they've spoken about before, like Thanatos' reputation in general among mortals, or some aspects of his godhood.. Things that Alice feels the other might just be a little too stubborn about to see a different side to.

It's why the girl sweeps aside that issue for the moment. Instead she focuses on the other part of what he says, because..

.. well, it is also quite wild to her. It shows, too, since Alice actually starts to look surprised as she looks at the other.

"What do you mean..? Why would someone close to you bother to ever trust someone who did something so horrible to you..?"

"I don't know," Thanatos admits. "I try to understand, but I can't."

Not without belittling his own experience, which he has learned that he shouldn't do... so he's stuck. Mort gives a supportive squeak, but he's also stuck on what to think. (Well, actually he wants to FITE Sisyphus, Zagreus, and Nyx over this, but that's hardly an answer Thanatos can do anything with.)

"I trust them to have a good sense of character, but when they trust him, I... I don't know what to think anymore. And I can't cut them out of my life. They mean so much to me."

"I.. agree," Alice slowly starts.

It's clear that she's having trouble what to say or think here as well. It shows in the uncertainty in her facial expression, in the way she seems to talk so slowly here, like she's still considering the words even as they leave her mouth.

"You should not cut them out of your life." After all, it's not like Thanatos seems to have many friends to begin with. And the ones he does have.. he seems close to them. Thanatos seems like the type to cherish those few he's close to.

Cutting them out would hurt him too much, Alice figures.

"But I have to admit I am fairly.. confused, I suppose," she honestly admits. At least honesty is not as hard when she's speaking to Thanatos. He's not likely to make fun of her for admitting to weakness, let alone abuse it. "I could not imagine being that close to someone and actually forgiving their tormentor in any way."

Maybe it's since she's been through a similar thing as Thanatos and gets it? Maybe it's since she would feel so infinitely hurt if someone had done the same to her. Whatever it is - she can't help but feel passionately about what she just said. Even if she did have the opportunity to meet that Sisyphus, all she would want to do is plunge a knife between his ribs and twist it.

Slowly.

Not have a normal conversation with him.

If Alice did that, Thanatos wouldn't be the one to stop her, especially after all the times he had to relive those memories. Sisyphus would find himself with another Fury.

"I'm confused as well." It's a small consolation that this is odd behavior and not just something Thanatos doesn't understand. "Maybe, I'll never understand." Just like he did (or didn't) with Ryo. Perhaps thinking of it that way will make things easier for him.

"Maybe that's why... I can't seem to figure out how to feel. About what I should do."

It's a difficult matter, isn't it. Alice can't imagine having to choose and decide under those circumstances, and it makes her quiet for a moment. It'd be easy to just tell him to not forgive the other, since it also sounds to her like it's what Thanatos would prefer, but.. even that would be pushing an opinion onto him.

So she doesn't. Instead Alice slowly exhales and then speaks on.

"In the end.. you should do what feels right to you."

Maybe that's the only thing she can tell him.

"You should never decide based on what other people think. You need to do what feels right in your heart." Look, it's a little sappy, sure.. but it's valid advice, as far as Alice is concerned.

"... That requires me to understand what feels right in my heart." Even though Thanatos says that, his tone is a little lighter. Something about what Alice said has helped despite neither of them having an answer. Perhaps that is it. Alice showed to have the same problem figuring out how to feel about the complicated situation. As someone who has experienced something similar, he does respect her opinion a lot.

(Even if he still has trouble with the whole hated Death image.)

"For now, I want to distance myself from this memory, I think." They didn't come into this maze to see his memories again. They came here with a different purpose.

"Then let us do that."

It's an easy decision to make. If Thanatos wants to get away from it, then that's exactly what they will do. Lingering here will not bring them anything new in the first place, after all.

"You do not have to see it any longer."

And Alice doesn't even just straight up wander off by herself, the way she might have with a whole lot of other people, just expecting them to follow her. Instead she reaches out, taking the god by his hand, and starts to drag Thanatos away. Further down the tunnels of the cave, away from the memory.

Like she wants to make absolutely sure he does leave it behind.

"All right."

Thanatos takes Alice's hand. If she wants to lead him away, then he'll let her. He had just been standing here after all. Maybe he can follow Alice's example or at least take comfort in the confusion she also has on the situation. It's easier to be himself, his real self who he's still getting to know, around Alice.

Mort will take advantage of their connected hands and jump to Alice's shoulder. She'll be thanked with some good Mort nuzzles.

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Event: 12 of Beetroot

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cw: mention of violence in narration

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