event } was there somethin' that made you come back again?

[seeingyou]

WHO: Everyone!
WHAT: Missing passengers return to Navi, trauma recovery begins (or not).
WHERE: Anywhere on Navi.
WHEN: March 21 until the next event (date TBD)
WARNINGS: Add these to your comment subject lines as needed! And if you end up getting lovingly strangled by another passenger, please record it on the death page.

There’s no fanfare to signal the return of passengers who’ve been missing for the past few weeks, just a sudden influx of familiar faces, returned to their respective cabins like they never left. Anything that was on their person at the time when the shift occurred came along for the ride, so those bellbottoms from the magic closet? Yeah, you’re stuck with them now.

Another thing the returning passengers will be stuck with is their memories of their time in Xanadu. Add those to the memories of their time on Navi, before their “death,” which have all now been restored. Ain’t the multiverse a wacky little thing?

Have fun getting to know your new neighbors and reuniting with old friends! Oh, and watch out for goose droppings - the feathered menace’s reign of terror hasn’t entirely been cleaned up yet.

Comments

closed to murmur.

[piacularis]

Mello doesn’t like being on the owing end of anything if he can help it, and since he’s acquired a jacket of his own - not one particularly to his liking, but serviceable all the same - he’s quick to return the one he was loaned after arriving back on the ship. Having such a keen mind for collecting details, he remembers the correct cabin and makes his way there shortly after re-orienting himself in this reality.

Mello stops at Murmur’s door and knocks to announce his arrival, borrowed jacket carefully folded over his arm while he waits. He’d rather get this over with quickly, before he’s spotted by anyone he wants to avoid.

[albatrossomen]

Fortunately Murmur was in. He'd had a little time to put his feathers back to normal and sweep that rage back into the dark little corner of his being it belonged in. There was a lot to sort out post-Xanadu, a task Murmur was none too eager to address.

Thus, a distracting knock was welcome.

The door slid open, Mello was of course remembered both for the coat and being on Xanadu... a part of Murmur hoped he hadn't actually seen who was responsible for the uh... blood glaciers. And lightning. Basically the apocalypse.

"Hello," He offered friendly enough, before recognizing the coat. "Ah, of course. Thank you." That's what he's here for right?

[piacularis]

Yep, that's what he's here for - returning the jacket. He holds it out for Murmur to take with a sharp nod of acknowledgement.

"I got one of my own now." Obviously, since he's wearing it. Not ideal, but it's his, and that's important. "Thanks again for the loan. I was careful with it."

[albatrossomen]

Murmur takes it, draping it over his own arm absently. Mello didn't need to treat the coat with any excessive care but he did still appreciate it. He offered a nod in return.

"Of course, my pleasure to assist. I trust it served you well?" He didn't want to mention Xanadu explicitly, things got weird and he's not sure how many people noticed him uh. Going full Old Testament.

[piacularis]

"It did." He nods, and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his own jacket. He'd noticed the mayhem - and the blood glaciers - toward the end of their stay in Xanadu, but he'd mostly kept to himself after the fight with Matt, so he hadn't been caught in the thick of it.

"I'm just glad I wasn't wearing it when I ended up ... over there."

You know. In Xanadu.

[albatrossomen]

Fortunate. Things had gotten pretty hairy there for a bit. So long as everyone stayed indoors... Murmur was of course aware it was probably impossible to protect all the mortals but he certainly left a lasting impression. He's fairly certain of that.

One hundred feet of bloody ice should do that.

"I am less concerned with the status of a jacket and more pleased you seem to have made it out of that debacle in one piece." The jacket wasn't that important.

[piacularis]

"Yeah, it seemed questionable, toward the end." He laughs dryly under his breath. If they were already supposed to be dead, what was the point of threatening their lives?

"Awfully strange weather we had there. If religous texts are to be believed, that's the sort of thing typically prophesized before the end of everything, not after."

[albatrossomen]

"The games Infernals play are peculiar. For all their preparation those ones did not have much staying power for keeping up appearances." Disappointing, really. Go to all that trouble to fake being angels only to let murder bots loose? They could have really stretched that torment out had they been more patient.

The comment does earn a faint smirk. "There wouldn't be anyone around to write about the ones they've witnessed personally, would there?" Alright that's creepy and ominous... something Murmur does tend to do accidentally and on purpose. He then relaxes and offers something of a dismissive, if sheepish, gesture. "I'm afraid I have something of a temper these days."

That's what we'll call that.

[piacularis]

Mello is a legitimate genius, and he's had prior experience with supernatural entities. It doesn't take him long to pick up the clues Murmur's just given him and piece them together. Creepy and ominous isn't as startling as the conclusion he draws at the end of the few seconds it takes him to puzzle out an answer.

"You were the one causing that." It makes perfect sense, with the air of familiarity around how he speaks of Infernals and apocalyptic prophecy. Without realizing it, Mello reaches up to close his fingers around the rosary hanging from his neck. It's not that it isn't impossible ... he just didn't believe it was true.

"You're real."

Please hold; it's going to take him a minute to readjust his worldview.

[albatrossomen]

Creepy and ominous certainly shouldn't be more alarming than more or less just admitting to bringing down an apocalypse upon a city. In truth more, rather than less. Mello's passed the first test.

The gesture is noted with a faintly raised eyebrow. Ah, the first particularly religious one he's spoken to. Honestly he was surprised it took so long. Stepping back from the door Murmur made a welcoming gesture.

"Would you like to come in? I have tea, and I'm certain you have questions." Which would seem to be an invitation that he might be willing to answer some. He'll hold, he knows this can take a few moments to digest. So long as he doesn't fall to his knees or anything annoying like that they'll be fine.

[piacularis]

He isn't a believer and he hasn't been for a long time, but he's aware enough from what he was taught when his mother was still alive to recognize what's standing in front of him. And yes, Mello has quite a few questions, so he nods and cautiously enters.

First question, of course: "What are you doing here?"

[albatrossomen]

Well, more a believer than the Evangelical Skeptic and the atheistic pagan, at any rate. Murmur prefers a lack of zealotry, humans don't often cope well learning that even while they weren't completely wrong, they also weren't completely right. It's a complicated matter.

"A good question," He offers as he pours Mello a mug of tea. This one always has tea on hand. "If there is a specific cause it is as of yet unclear to me. If I were to guess, I believe it has something to do with Mindseye."

[piacularis]

Mello mumbles quick thanks as he accepts the tea, though he doesn't yet drink. Murmur's answer isn't quite what Mello meant by his question - he was looking for something a bit broader in scope. Even so, the answer he's given is an intriguing one.

"What is Mindseye?"

[albatrossomen]

Oh, certainly Murmur knew and expected as much. Unfortunately Mello caught him on something of a break between jobs as it were. Besides, even if he was working it'd be unlikely he'd be fully forward about that information. It was often best not to be.

"Mindseye is an Artificial Intelligence created by a highly advanced species that it, in turn, wiped out in a fit of rage. Or at least attempted to, I did not have the opportunity to verify if the containment saved the rest of the species. An unimportant detail at this current juncture. Having perfected the artificial bodies that could food the technology keeping it contained it escaped into the universe.

We have crossed paths a few times with evidence of its existence within this region already. A shared dream, and those murderous humanoid robots we met on the Infernal's world were its work.." That's probably a lot to take in, so he'll let that settle, moving to take a seat not far from Mello to settle in and enjoy his own tea.

[piacularis]

That's a lot of information to process, and Mello is still mentally adjusting to the idea that angels are apparently real. He takes a stunned moment to silently sip his tea. Sure, why not a sentient, murderous AI. Not all that different from people, really.

"Is that your mission, then? This Mindseye thing?" Murmur hadn't sounded sold on the idea, but God was rumored to work in mysterious ways, after all.

[albatrossomen]

It sure is, he understands and is willing to give Mello the time he needs to digest it all. It's much, and sometimes Murmur can be a little prone to oversharing when he isn't being selective and sketchy with what information he divulges. Right now providing it was more crucial than hiding it.

"That is my working hypothesis. That, or protecting this voyage." Or both, they were likely tied. Unfortunately he hadn't received any direct orders so he was just going by what seemed most obvious at the moment.

[piacularis]

The fact that Murmur is not operating under direct orders seems fairly obvious to Mello, from what he says about his reasons for being on the ship. It doesn’t seem necessary to follow that line of inquiry any farther.

A different path of questioning, then - one that Mello hasn’t been able to answer himself in the months he’s spent in space. He takes another sip of tea, then glances back to Murmur.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

There’s more meaning to that question than asking why the multiverse decided to scoop him up onto this voyage. A celestial being would be more of an expert regarding a different plane of existence.

[albatrossomen]

He has asked. Many times. Thus far receiving only silence for an answer. He must make his own purpose here, a truly daunting task in light of the millennia behind him.

The follow up question was, while easier to answer, no less dissatisfying:

"No."

He spreads a hand in something of a helpless gesture, the claw-like rings serving to almost bring his next explanation into visual relief of great webs and strands all interconnected but ever mysterious.

"Though it may not always seem the case, free-will is the first and driving force behind all mortal kind. Your gift, your burden. Each thread and pattern woven by the choices you have made, by the choices made of those around you, and choices that have not yet been presented." He gestures as though plucking at a strand from the ether to analyze further. Perhaps he was doing precisely that. "And, of course, a healthy dose of cosmic spontaneity. It simply wouldn't do for things to be too predictable, now would it?"

He seemed amused by his own little private joke.

"If I may posit yet another hypothesis... perhaps this place, these rifts, offer something of a... second chance. For those who have reached the end of their thread." He draws the claw back, as though snapping his imaginary thread. "You are not the first. Doubtful you will be the last."

[piacularis]

Mello is very quiet while Murmur gives his answer, intently watching the business with the invisible thread. It’s about what he expected; he has seen and caused too much chaos to believe in predestination. Silently, he nods in acknowledgement as Murmur concludes his thoughts about the nature of their situation.

“Until about ten minutes ago, I hadn’t seriously believed in the existence of God since I was a child,” he confesses. Odd, perhaps, that he chooses to wear a rosary. His gaze drops to the reflection in the remains of his tea. “The choices I made ended, by design, in my death. Finding myself here afterwards was a surprise, to say the least - resurrection may not be unique but it also isn’t known to be a common occurrence. And, all things considered, I expected there to be nothing at all waiting for me after I died.”

He pauses, mouth pursed, considering if he should say more of what’s on his mind. He hasn’t admitted any of this aloud to anyone, not even Matt. But so much of what Mello believed as truth about his world has been suddenly turned on his head, and Murmur seems in a unique position to understand.

“I did many evil things while I was alive, things the Church classifies as mortal sins. I also never repented for any of them, so I think that clearly marks me as one of the damned.” He’s not boasting, merely factual - he did bad things, on purpose, and knew they were bad before doing them. Mello glances back up to Murmur, expression pinched with puzzlement.

“Why would someone like me be given a second chance?”

[albatrossomen]

Picking up on that unspoken thread of thought Murmur's eyes darted over to focus on Mello, only for a brief moment as that gaze held a weight to it mortals often found both unnerving and deeply uncomfortable. "A lack of individual predestination does not necessarily imply there is no purpose nor plan." He went back to staring more past Mello than at him. There was a lot he knew about the nature of the universe, his own anyway, and the ebb and flow of fate and free will within. The complexity of it all remained, as ever, difficult to put into concise words.

If only he could show others what he saw, then he thought they might understand.

"You are correct, on the resurrection topic." Obviously less correct on the nothing front. It wasn't necessarily a problem, unless of course one lived a life as Mello had. Wantonly being the worst version of oneself did tend to end... unfavorably. Mello's luck, Murmur is in a unique position to understand and he wasn't one given easily to judgmental thinking. That's for others to decide.

"You may find it ironic to know that sentiment is not only not uncommon, but may indeed be the very factor behind the predicament in which you now find yourself. It is perhaps fortunate for us all that we, ultimately, do not decide our own worthiness for redemption."

Even Celestials were guilty of under or over-valuing themselves in a manner inconsistent with reality. The answer is mysterious ways, Mello, it's always mysterious ways.

[piacularis]

Mello likes mysteries when they’re something he can solve - clues to piece together, a riddle to untangle, an answer to be molded out of scraps and shards. Mysteries without answers don’t sit well with him.

What Murmur says about redemption has a visible effect on Mello; his expression pinches in pain, and he exhales sharply, as if delivered a hard punch to the gut. His eyes squeeze shut as he slowly breathes through the emotional blow. Until recently, Mello would’ve claimed he didn’t need redeeming, because everything he did was for a greater purpose, thus was justified. But his confrontation with Matt in Xanadu has forced him to re-examine some aspects of his life. He’d hurt Matt over and over, without thinking of anything except his own goals. He got Matt killed, even if Matt refuses to believe it. Maybe his ruthlessness wasn’t as righteous as he’d believed. In the end, Mello hadn’t won anything he wanted, and he’d lost so much more - he just hadn’t been able to see how much until it was too late.

Maybe it’s not too late after all.

“Does … “ he begins, and he hates the way his voice sounds so unsteady. “Does He hear us? Does He listen?”

[albatrossomen]

Not all mysteries are meant to be solved. Much less in one lifetime. That said, Murmur understood the frustration. His was a nature of boundless curiosity, of unending questions seeking answers and even he often found the mysterious ways infinitely frustrating and often unsatisfactory. And yet... there was something of a thrill for there to still be questions yet unanswered.

But it wasn't his questions that mattered. No, the important ones were those before him now. A troubled young man questioning his own life's decisions, uncertain in what course to take his next few steps. A crossroads, that realization that he did not in fact know all the answers, and those answers he had convinced himself were righteous were suddenly looking more than a little tarnished in hindsight. Ends justify the means indeed... or do they? Sometimes it did take losing everything to really understand that.

In the meantime, Murmur was silent, watching the middle distance in that strange way he did as he listened. Mello may not know the turmoil he faced played as loud for the angel in the room as it did for himself, but he was listening. And that question, well...

It earned something of a brief, faint smile.

"Yes," A beat or two as he considers. "I believe He does." Now, whether or not that meant more than simply that, that he listens, Murmur didn't seem inclined to elaborate. It was up to the mortal to come to his own conclusions on that front.