rippled | laurence

[ good morning. they are together and opening a door and i am just going to yeet us into a memory yippee.

You are on a ship.

It is full of your father's followers, all following along after you under his orders. Your wife, Ototachibana-hime, is also with you, as she refused to be left behind on the mission. It is rather typical behavior for her, and you knew no amount of argument would dissuade her from it.

But the sea is raging. The waves are fall taller than your ship, and they crash relentlessly against its sides, threatening to overturn the entire thing. You are not sure if everyone is still onboard or if some have been lost to the waters, and you likely will not know until things have calmed down. But there is nothing to do right now but try to keep everything moving to get past the storm.

And yet it just persists. It does not take too long for the dread to sink in, that this is more than just a regular storm and that the gods are against you yet again. You start to fear that you will not reach the shore, and that you will fail your father and never see your country again. All you can do is try to keep control of everyone.

You see movement to your left, and you almost don't pay it too much mind—until you realize why it caught your attention in the first place. Ototachibana-hime has walked to the end of the ship, her hands now clutching the railing. There is a serene expression on her face.

You start to walk towards her. "Why are you out here? It's dangerous."

She looks back to face you. "The sea needs a sacrifice, my beloved."

You aren't sure if you heard her right. You start walking even faster, but the harsh rocking of the ship keeps sending you to your knees. You get back up to try again.

"It's just a storm," you say, even though you know it is not just a storm. "It will pass. Please go inside."

"We won't survive this," she says, looking back at the water. "But you must fulfill your duty. I will do this for you."

You run faster. She is right in front of you, and your reach your hand out to grab her just as she pushes herself over the railing into the water below. Your hand encloses on empty air, and you watch your wife fall into the sea with a smile on her face and love in her gaze.

The waters calm down to a point where it's almost as if there never was a storm. All you can do is stare at the spot she once was.

saber just blinks. ]

[ my god. he's horrified by the time the memory stops. ]

What... Why did she...?

... the gods were angry and were trying to sink our ship. So she decided to offer herself to appease them.

[ they glance away. ]

In doing so, she calmed the sea.

But why? What were they so mad about? Why would they need - a sacrifice?

... it is difficult to understand gods. Sometimes, they are just angry that you dared to even cross their path.

In this case, a sacrifice was bending to their will. We were let go.

[ just for crossing their path. hah. laurence doesn't think he'll ever understand gods. ]

But she wasn't just a sacrifice. She was important to you.

... yes. I loved her very much.

[ for a moment, it seems like that's all they're going to say, but they eventually continue. ]

It was how things were.

It shouldn't be.

[ no one should be getting hurt just because someone stronger decided it. it isn't right. ]

...I'm sorry. That you lost her at all but especially like that.

Thank you.

If you have someone, or find someone, that you love very much, just make sure you treasure them, Laurence.

[ he stares at Saber for a moment, then breathes out a sigh. ]

I... kind of already dropped the ball on that one. But it's not really the same.

[ he glances back at the mirrors, frowning. ]

I wish there was a way to stop these things. No needs to have memories like this brought back up as if they're things we'd forget.

Mm, I agree. It takes away your agency to bring it up yourself, too, if you were planning on it.

[ they're looking ahead, but will turn their gaze back to him. ]

... sorry about bringing up a touchy subject.

[ LAURENCE YOUR FUMBLE ]

No, it's fine. It's different, like I said. No... sacrifices.

[ awful. ]

I don't think many of us would bring up things like this on our, though. Who would want to remember something that bad?

Perhaps that's why? Forcing us to learn more about each other.

[ because they were definitely not going to mention any of this. ]

There are definitely better ways to do that than this.

All of the hand holding was preferable...

[ and they weren't too wild about affection week... they didn't know you people back then... ]

That was a little awkward, but... yeah. Better than all the other weird effects we've had.

Hopefully people can get some respite from it.

[ ok give me a mem i have no cws ]

We probably shouldn't get our hopes up for it.

[ but okay! laurence's turn to be doxxed. ]

[ ... hmm.

saber does not say anything right away, but they will eventually speak up. ]

Iris is a friend...?

No. [ ... ] Not anymore. Not for years.

... I see.

Have you seen him again? After that?

Not yet. But I'm going to try and find him, if I can.

[ they nod. ]

... even if you are no longer friends, it seems like he is at least someone who matters to you, so I hope it goes well.

...Thanks. I don't think he'd ever forgive himself if he was used to hurt someone, so hopefully it doesn't take that long.

[ they nod. ]

Are you still in that place? The Tower? Or... were, I guess, since you're here now.

week 3, monday

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject