I like having a picture of everyone I meet, to remind me of my experiences And maybe if more of my friends from home show up, I can show them how cool you look before they meet you!
[ Not much time later, Lae'zel will find her way to the first room in Redemption, folding her arms and not beating around the bush regarding peeking through the opened door. ]
Hm. So the layouts of rooms in other teams are identical.
[ She's definitely added more decor in her room, if the pink and purple bedspread is any indication. And the little strands of lights. And the photo wall, of course. ]
[ She keeps her gaze on the wall, studying the pictures. Izou's kind of surprising to see here, but then again... March gets along with her fine enough, so maybe she's fine with Izou, too. ]
Go on.
[ An affirmative nod, while her gaze drifts to the device. ]
[ She takes a few minutes to explain it, simply: that you can view the image you want to capture through the little window at the back of the camera, that you can use the bit on the front to make the subject look closer or further away, and pressing the button takes the picture and then you can see it on the screen and print it out. ]
And that's more or less it! It gives you a solidified memory that you can look at whenever you want, pretty much! And it gives me a better chance of having something to hold onto next time if I'm sealed away again.
[ Her voice lowers, suspicion and disapproval ringing throughout. Not at March, but beyond her — at whatever had done the sealing. In her experience, the gods and those with such power to manipulate others are never so benevolent as they seem. ]
It was someone else's doing, then. Your state of mind.
[ She'd initially thought that March had been in some kind of accident... nonetheless, there's no pity on her features, just interest, while she studies the camera and commits the different functions to memory. ]
Yeah... I tried to access my memories to see if I could go further back than what I remembered, and I found out that an Aeon--uh, I guess what most people would call a god, was probably responsible for it. That my memories were deliberately sealed.
I just kept getting told that it was for my own good, that I shouldn't keep digging.
[ Though from the stubborn set of her frown, she's not up for taking the advice. ]
[ Lae'zel lets out a click of her tongue, brow tensing. It's obvious in every inch of her sour expression to her tense body language that her opinion is steadfast on mattrs such as these: she's against higher beings having so much control over someone else. She's irritated on March's behalf, and more than that, has no reverence or fear for these higher beings. ]
Chk. Only those who had something to lose from you regaining yourself would say that. These "gods" — [ She says the word like an insult, ] — in my experience, they are selfish, conniving creatures, often trampling on the lives of others to maintain their status.
[ The photo wall gets put into a different light for Lae'zel. In some ways, this is March's own act of rebellion. ]
Back in my realm, I had a companion — Shadowheart. Her memories sealed away again and again by her "god." All to keep her from the knowledge that she was stolen away as a child by that god's followers. To be molded into the perfect follower. How convenient, then, to encourage her not to seek out the truth, to keep her in the dark. To teach her to sit down and accept being erased.
[ There's not a doubt in her mind that it's the same thing for March... whoever this "Aeon" is has something to gain from March's forced ignorance. ]
Stolen away?? [ That... can't be right, can it? No one had tried to recruit her to their cause, and she'd chosen to join the Nameless of her own free will. But to think something similar to an Aeon would...
Well, it's not like the Aeons of Destruction or Nihility...
... Okay, never mind. ]
Your friend... is she okay now? If you know that, it means she regained her memories, right?
[ It seems pretty ambiguous, from Lae'zel's point of view... and she hadn't exactly gone rooting around. There's never open sympathy on Lae'zel's features, but the expression she wears now might ben the closest thing to it that March has seen. Even still, her words come out more like a grave warning, a possible glimpse into March's future, rather than heartbroken rambnling. ]
One thing remains true even if she had — she can never reclaim the years lost with her family. All that time, she believed her memory was erased time and time again for her own good, or for the sake of carrying out a sacred mission for her goddess. Only having the courage to question that freed her, in the end. I suggest you do the same.
[ For all March knows, this isn't the first time that her memories have been wiped, is the idea Lae'zel is trying to get across. She... doesn't want to see March suffer the way Shadowheart had, surprising as she's sure others would find that. When she says her final words, her voice lowers with gravity, her eyes piercing as she meets March's — as though giving her a pep talk at the brink of a bloody battle. ]
If you do not take control of your own fate, others will control it for you. After all.... a clueless, obedient tool is the easiest one to use.
[ To question it, huh... Well, no worries there. March has been fighting tooth and nail, even within her own memories, to get an answer the Garden of Recollection apparently didn't want her to have.
And she remembers something Dan Heng had said once--that the journey for those who followed the Path of the Trailblaze didn't mean only following the "right" path but following the one that felt right to them, after considering the possibilities and the potential. And to her, it's not accepting the fact that her memories are gone and she should move forward without them.
... Even if it's a very daunting thought to think this might have happened multiple times, and she swallows hard against the lump in her throat, meeting Lae'zel's intense gaze. This is... her genuinely caring, isn't it? ]
It's all right. I'm not in the habit of letting anyone or anything decide what's best for me, except for me.
[ Her chin juts out — approval in her eyes. That's the response she wanted to hear. Anything less, and she might've had to push harder, but it seems March already has a good head on her shoulders. Satisfied, she flicks her eyes away, shifting her weight to one side. ]
Then you are already strides ahead of her.
[ Shadowheart's not here to defend herself... so Lae'zel can say that. The other woman spent so long deathly devoted, completely and stubbornly unwilling to question the motives of her goddess... March seems much farther along by comparison. ]
Now, show me how the device is in action. It's technology rather than magic, yes?
[ And she's once again bubbly and enthusiastic, ready to leap into a new topic without letting the old one fully leave her thoughts. Carefully tucked away for later. ]
So, depending on how you want to look, just strike a pose and I'll take the picture and we'll go from there!
[ Says this like its the most foreign thing imaginable, and like she has no idea what March is talking about... her expression flattens too, for good measure. ]
[ And she's snapping a quick picture, heading over to Lae'zel's side to show her the screen where the photo has been captured. A press of the button to print out the photo itself and she offers it to her. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@ice snap, text
I don't have a picture of you yet!!
Do you mind if I take one?
@lizard of oz
[ she remembers! ]
For what purpose do you need one?
no subject
And maybe if more of my friends from home show up, I can show them how cool you look before they meet you!
no subject
And given the limits of the common language to describe me.
[ or so sooyoung says. she's joking, but over text, it probably looks 100% serious. ]
Very well, I accept. I want to see more of this device, anyhow.
no subject
[ She's just accepting there are limits to the common language to describe her. Sure. Sounds about right. ]
I'm in the first room in Redemption, if you want to drop by!
no subject
Hm. So the layouts of rooms in other teams are identical.
[ good to know... ]
no subject
Is this the first room you've been in?
no subject
[ Her eyes hone in on the photo wall, looking for familiar faces. ]
no subject
Then, welcome! I can explain how the camera works now, if you want.
no subject
Go on.
[ An affirmative nod, while her gaze drifts to the device. ]
no subject
And that's more or less it! It gives you a solidified memory that you can look at whenever you want, pretty much! And it gives me a better chance of having something to hold onto next time if I'm sealed away again.
no subject
[ Her voice lowers, suspicion and disapproval ringing throughout. Not at March, but beyond her — at whatever had done the sealing. In her experience, the gods and those with such power to manipulate others are never so benevolent as they seem. ]
It was someone else's doing, then. Your state of mind.
[ She'd initially thought that March had been in some kind of accident... nonetheless, there's no pity on her features, just interest, while she studies the camera and commits the different functions to memory. ]
no subject
I just kept getting told that it was for my own good, that I shouldn't keep digging.
[ Though from the stubborn set of her frown, she's not up for taking the advice. ]
mild bg3 act 3 spoilers
Chk. Only those who had something to lose from you regaining yourself would say that. These "gods" — [ She says the word like an insult, ] — in my experience, they are selfish, conniving creatures, often trampling on the lives of others to maintain their status.
[ The photo wall gets put into a different light for Lae'zel. In some ways, this is March's own act of rebellion. ]
Back in my realm, I had a companion — Shadowheart. Her memories sealed away again and again by her "god." All to keep her from the knowledge that she was stolen away as a child by that god's followers. To be molded into the perfect follower. How convenient, then, to encourage her not to seek out the truth, to keep her in the dark. To teach her to sit down and accept being erased.
[ There's not a doubt in her mind that it's the same thing for March... whoever this "Aeon" is has something to gain from March's forced ignorance. ]
wao
Well, it's not like the Aeons of Destruction or Nihility...
... Okay, never mind. ]
Your friend... is she okay now? If you know that, it means she regained her memories, right?
no subject
[ It seems pretty ambiguous, from Lae'zel's point of view... and she hadn't exactly gone rooting around. There's never open sympathy on Lae'zel's features, but the expression she wears now might ben the closest thing to it that March has seen. Even still, her words come out more like a grave warning, a possible glimpse into March's future, rather than heartbroken rambnling. ]
One thing remains true even if she had — she can never reclaim the years lost with her family. All that time, she believed her memory was erased time and time again for her own good, or for the sake of carrying out a sacred mission for her goddess. Only having the courage to question that freed her, in the end. I suggest you do the same.
[ For all March knows, this isn't the first time that her memories have been wiped, is the idea Lae'zel is trying to get across. She... doesn't want to see March suffer the way Shadowheart had, surprising as she's sure others would find that. When she says her final words, her voice lowers with gravity, her eyes piercing as she meets March's — as though giving her a pep talk at the brink of a bloody battle. ]
If you do not take control of your own fate, others will control it for you. After all.... a clueless, obedient tool is the easiest one to use.
no subject
And she remembers something Dan Heng had said once--that the journey for those who followed the Path of the Trailblaze didn't mean only following the "right" path but following the one that felt right to them, after considering the possibilities and the potential. And to her, it's not accepting the fact that her memories are gone and she should move forward without them.
... Even if it's a very daunting thought to think this might have happened multiple times, and she swallows hard against the lump in her throat, meeting Lae'zel's intense gaze. This is... her genuinely caring, isn't it? ]
It's all right. I'm not in the habit of letting anyone or anything decide what's best for me, except for me.
no subject
Then you are already strides ahead of her.
[ Shadowheart's not here to defend herself... so Lae'zel can say that. The other woman spent so long deathly devoted, completely and stubbornly unwilling to question the motives of her goddess... March seems much farther along by comparison. ]
Now, show me how the device is in action. It's technology rather than magic, yes?
no subject
[ And she's once again bubbly and enthusiastic, ready to leap into a new topic without letting the old one fully leave her thoughts. Carefully tucked away for later. ]
So, depending on how you want to look, just strike a pose and I'll take the picture and we'll go from there!
no subject
[ Says this like its the most foreign thing imaginable, and like she has no idea what March is talking about... her expression flattens too, for good measure. ]
no subject
no subject
[ Crosses her arms, does nothing to strike a fabulous pose, and stares right at the camera — ]
Will this suffice?
no subject
[ And she's snapping a quick picture, heading over to Lae'zel's side to show her the screen where the photo has been captured. A press of the button to print out the photo itself and she offers it to her. ]
And it's just like that!