DUNGEON LOG - TELOVIA MINES

[phantasmods]

The day dawns bright and early - the same as most every expedition. The only difference is that you'll need to take the teleportation pad to Lodestone as a starting point - the gliders and drones are already there. There's clouds on the horizon, though, so if you're going to take a glider and go, you'd better get going.

There's some new additions, though, to the usual group of androids seeing you off. Tau is checking over the drones ready to carry those who can't or won't use the gliders, and Muon is practicing opening and collapsing the wings of a glider with bright yellow sails. She grins at anyone who approaches, shooting them a thumbs up.

"Don't worry about getting lost or falling behind! As long as Tau's here, they'll keep us all together."

And with that bit of bright cheer, it's off towards the mountains you go...

----

From the air, the remains of the mining town are almost impossible to tell from any other part of the forest. The trees - especially the old ones - are much thinner, and that's really the only sign of what's below.

But Muon's bright yellow glider, leading the way, dips down into the treeline before landing in an open space, and anyone who isn't paying enough attention to follow will feel their glider being herded in the same direction by Tau's power - control not outright taken, but more of a nudge, like, hey buddy it's this way. The group lands just beyond the border of the Fissure - a tiny stable spot in whatever's left of this world.

And a good thing, too, because landing in the Fissure itself could prove quite difficult...

Comments

[motherfucking_ghost]

You mean the general dickishness because I'm an asshole, or specifically the dickishness to you?

[founderinglight]

The latter, considering that outside of that I don't consider you an asshole much at all.

[Which will probably send him into reboot mode again.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

That's just cuz you've seen me with Ardyn and also at my absolute lowest, at least for that season, so you know I'm not an evil dickwad, just an annoyance.

But you I hate, so. I dunno why you act like you're surprised.

[founderinglight]

I'm not surprised. That's the entire point. I don't need you to repeat it every time we're vaguely getting along.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I didn't repeat it until you asked. You're the one that doesn't fucking understand me anyway. Maybe this place will be good for us! I'm almost tolerable when I'm not speaking, after all!

[founderinglight]

... Oh, for the love of...

[He buries his face in his hands.]

Why is it only the worst of what I say that you actually believe?

[motherfucking_ghost]

Why do you think I only believe the worst of what you say? There's plenty that you say that I believe. [He fiddles with the cannon in his hands.] Not everything, obviously.

[founderinglight]

Like what.

[Money. Mouth. Let's see it.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

Like most things? That you regret the shit you did to Ardyn. That you genuinely like me in spite of every indication and reason to the contrary.

[founderinglight]

...Thank you.

[Because those are the important things.]

Though I still don't understand why you think I wouldn't like you. Especially now.

[motherfucking_ghost]

I don't understand why I would ever think you would like me. All of your reasons have been complete bullshit. I mean I believe you believe it, I believe you do actually, for some fucked up reason or another, like me. I don't understand why. Just because I'm technically family? That's not good enough.

[founderinglight]

[Izunia rubs at his face, briefly, trying to find the words.]

It's not just that you're family. You're Ardyn's family. You represent a miracle at such distant odds they're incomprehensible, the miracle in which my brother finds any happiness at all in the end.

Out of all of that darkness, he chose you, and you all chose to stand by him. Is that enough for love?

[When the night is come...]

...I don't know. But it's enough to give someone a chance. And the person you are...

Forget Airlocked, forget everything else. In just this moment - you could have walked by. I never would have known you were there.

[And that person is someone that Izunia is glad to call family.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

...Well. [fuck] Maybe next time I will.

[founderinglight]

Somehow, I doubt that.

[Just because he has to learn to see doesn't mean he's incapable.]

But I have no regrets about my decision to try.

[motherfucking_ghost]

See, that sounds like a challenge to me. [church]

[founderinglight]

...Save it for my brother in the bedroom, polestar.

[He's seen most of R2 now he knows that's how you fuckers flirt.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[He hefts the glitter cannon in one arm against his shoulder and fingerguns with his free hand.] Yeah I am.

[founderinglight]

As in north star, guiding light, et cetera, the pun is just a bonus.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Well, shit, then just call me the north star, or like, polaris or something. Not call me a star on the poles, or a Volvo company.

[founderinglight]

Not all pole stars point to north.

[There is, after all, a south pole.]

... Is your world's polestar really named Polaris? That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.

[motherfucking_ghost]

Wh--yeah the north fucking star is called fucking Polaris, that sounds way cooler than 'polestar' or like...the star of the North Pole. Go fuck yourself, you're one of the stupidest things I've ever heard!

[founderinglight]

[The problem, Church, is that Izunia knows... way more about astronomy than you do, spaceman.]

But the pole star changes, any planet with a tilt will have some degree of fluctuation - do they just move the name Polaris around to whatever star it's relevant for?!

[motherfucking_ghost]

How the fuck should I know?! I've never actually been on Earth except in Akira's version of it!

[founderinglight]

That's still more of it than I've seen.

[motherfucking_ghost]

That's reassuring.