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rebellsGAME Game 258/Day 328, DARKNESS GM GAME
FORM flower with petals to be plucked, 6/7 uses left
TAKEN offscreen, some time around Day 330
THE MEMORY
This memory begins with the party approaching Grune, already in battle with Schwartz, at the Wings of Light. They admonish her for going off alone and not trusting them to help her! As they prepare to join the fight, they're cut off by Schwartz's power:
Schwartz: Observe, Grune.
Schwartz: This is the reality of this world. It's not worth laying down your life to defend it.
Grune: I will stop you if you intend to take it away.
Schwartz: Not even summon spirits can exist in this immature world. What possible value could it have?
Grune: I've shared so much joy with these people. I can't just stand by and watch their lives come to an end.
Schwartz: Joy is unnecessary. Joy only leads to sadness.
Grune: You're wrong. You truly are a sad person.
Schwartz: People always live in sadness. They are small, weak creatures.
Schwartz: Driven by regret, they turn their backs on what they truly want.
Schwartz: They doubt even their own convictions. They give in to their anxieties and run away.
Schwartz: They allow their hearts to be shackled by hatred, losing sight of themselves and eventually turning to bloodshed.
Schwartz: Only when they face the insurmountable wall of destiny do they realize how small they truly are.
Schwartz: Thought they may have already found what they seek, still they stray down the path of foolishness, fearful of pain and suffering.
Schwartz: Then, in the end, they beg the gods for help.
Grune: They have strengths and they have weaknesses. That's what it means to be human.
Schwartz: I will grant them their hearts' desires.
Schwartz: If all should cease to be, then pain and suffering should end as well.
Schwartz: Everything must return to nothingness.
Grune: You don't understand, do you?
Schwartz: Grune. Do not stand in my way.
This is when the party starts to beat her back, with the force of their DETERMINATION!! and their eres. Grune awakens, in a nice little FMV I'll find later, but Schwartz says it's too late--that the difference in their power can't be overcome. Cue boss battle . . . which fails to phase Schwartz.
Schwartz draws on the "grief, sorrow, and suffering" of humans and the world to feed her power, immobilizing the party. She tells them to just give up, essentially, and that the world is about to come to an end because humanity desires it, which Grune counters. Then she vanishes--because, Grune tells them, she's completed her task. There's a spot of humorous awkwardness, because awakened/memoried Grune is very formal and serious and nothing like the cute, cheerful, forgetful Grune they've come to know, and everyone goes back to Werites Beacon.
Back in the city, things are getting serious. There have been sightings of a Schwartz-like figure around town, and when pressed by the party, Grune reluctantly explains everything: the black mist they've been dealing with is the "manifestation of human weakness--anger, hatred, fear, sadness, grief," which feeds Schwartz and provides her with power. (The mist also crystallizes into Darkness monsters! Fun.) Schwartz herself is the "Guide to Nothingness," something like a goddess of oblivion, and Grune? Is "the one who must defeat Schwartz." That's her reason for existence, as far as she's concerned. And then, well . . . .
Senel: What is Schwartz's objective? What does she intend to do?
Grune: Schwartz has descended to this world to grant a wish.
Grune: The wish of Nerifes. To save people from their suffering.
Jay: Wait a minute. Isn't what she's doing contradicting that?
Grune: There is more than one way to free people from their suffering.
As a note, he makes a horrified face here.
Grune: It is because joy and pain exist that people are swayed and moved by emotion. It is why they eventually fall into sadness.
Will: It is because they have emotions that people suffer...Hmm...
Grune: By destroying everything and returning it to nothingness, Schwartz will set mankind free.
Moses: What does that mean exactly?
Grune: Eventually, Schwartz shall remake the world to be as if it never existed.
Grune: She believes this is the best solution to free people from their suffering.
They observe that she certainly has the power to achieve her goal, and Grune implores them to withdraw, because they'd only be a burden to her--they simply don't have the power. Moses protests this, but:
Jay: Look at reality, Moses.
Jay: We were defeated by Schwartz before we could even lift a finger.
Moses: So what?!
Jay: This isn't something we can just solve with our emotions!
Shirley: Is there really nothing we can do?...
Grune: There's no need to despair. This is my responsibility to fulfill.
After a few more exchanges, Moses storms off. Grune tells them to forget what they've heard, because "it's not something that humans need," and they sort of disperse after that. Jay returns to the Oresoren village, where he has a revelation of sorts . . . .
Jay: I can't believe I didn't realize it until I came back here...What am I doing?
Jay: How can I make fun of Moses if I act like this myself?
Jay: Why am I worrying about a question I already know the answer to?
Jay: You fight because you have something you want to protect. It doesn't matter whether or not you can win.
Jay: Right?
Jay: I don't need dinner or a bath right now. I have somewhere I need to go.
Jay: I still have something I have to do.
Quppo: Jay, your eyes show great determination.
Pippo: That's the Jay we know.
Poppo: We're always on your side, Jay.
Jay: I'm going now. I'll see you when I get back.
They tell him they'll be waiting for him. The memory ends there.
WHAT HE LEARNED
+ confirmation that Grune DID change after she regained her memory
+ Schwartz is meant to bring about oblivion/the end of the world, and Grune is her opposite/destined opponent
+ Schwartz/the black mist represents human weakness, and Nerifes' desire to save people from their suffering (suicide drive?!)
+ she had an enormous amount of power, because people want to escape their suffering
+ a-as a sidebar there's also some stuff about Nerifes that implies THINGS
EFFECTS
+ 500 determination to always fight!! No matter what!
+ 50 wow what the fuck is this darkness mist
+ 100 wait *is* it Darkness mist and if so what does that even mean . . . .
FORM flower with petals to be plucked, 6/7 uses left
TAKEN offscreen, some time around Day 330
THE MEMORY
This memory begins with the party approaching Grune, already in battle with Schwartz, at the Wings of Light. They admonish her for going off alone and not trusting them to help her! As they prepare to join the fight, they're cut off by Schwartz's power:
Schwartz: Observe, Grune.
Schwartz: This is the reality of this world. It's not worth laying down your life to defend it.
Grune: I will stop you if you intend to take it away.
Schwartz: Not even summon spirits can exist in this immature world. What possible value could it have?
Grune: I've shared so much joy with these people. I can't just stand by and watch their lives come to an end.
Schwartz: Joy is unnecessary. Joy only leads to sadness.
Grune: You're wrong. You truly are a sad person.
Schwartz: People always live in sadness. They are small, weak creatures.
Schwartz: Driven by regret, they turn their backs on what they truly want.
Schwartz: They doubt even their own convictions. They give in to their anxieties and run away.
Schwartz: They allow their hearts to be shackled by hatred, losing sight of themselves and eventually turning to bloodshed.
Schwartz: Only when they face the insurmountable wall of destiny do they realize how small they truly are.
Schwartz: Thought they may have already found what they seek, still they stray down the path of foolishness, fearful of pain and suffering.
Schwartz: Then, in the end, they beg the gods for help.
Grune: They have strengths and they have weaknesses. That's what it means to be human.
Schwartz: I will grant them their hearts' desires.
Schwartz: If all should cease to be, then pain and suffering should end as well.
Schwartz: Everything must return to nothingness.
Grune: You don't understand, do you?
Schwartz: Grune. Do not stand in my way.
This is when the party starts to beat her back, with the force of their DETERMINATION!! and their eres. Grune awakens, in a nice little FMV I'll find later, but Schwartz says it's too late--that the difference in their power can't be overcome. Cue boss battle . . . which fails to phase Schwartz.
Schwartz draws on the "grief, sorrow, and suffering" of humans and the world to feed her power, immobilizing the party. She tells them to just give up, essentially, and that the world is about to come to an end because humanity desires it, which Grune counters. Then she vanishes--because, Grune tells them, she's completed her task. There's a spot of humorous awkwardness, because awakened/memoried Grune is very formal and serious and nothing like the cute, cheerful, forgetful Grune they've come to know, and everyone goes back to Werites Beacon.
Back in the city, things are getting serious. There have been sightings of a Schwartz-like figure around town, and when pressed by the party, Grune reluctantly explains everything: the black mist they've been dealing with is the "manifestation of human weakness--anger, hatred, fear, sadness, grief," which feeds Schwartz and provides her with power. (The mist also crystallizes into Darkness monsters! Fun.) Schwartz herself is the "Guide to Nothingness," something like a goddess of oblivion, and Grune? Is "the one who must defeat Schwartz." That's her reason for existence, as far as she's concerned. And then, well . . . .
Senel: What is Schwartz's objective? What does she intend to do?
Grune: Schwartz has descended to this world to grant a wish.
Grune: The wish of Nerifes. To save people from their suffering.
Jay: Wait a minute. Isn't what she's doing contradicting that?
Grune: There is more than one way to free people from their suffering.
As a note, he makes a horrified face here.
Grune: It is because joy and pain exist that people are swayed and moved by emotion. It is why they eventually fall into sadness.
Will: It is because they have emotions that people suffer...Hmm...
Grune: By destroying everything and returning it to nothingness, Schwartz will set mankind free.
Moses: What does that mean exactly?
Grune: Eventually, Schwartz shall remake the world to be as if it never existed.
Grune: She believes this is the best solution to free people from their suffering.
They observe that she certainly has the power to achieve her goal, and Grune implores them to withdraw, because they'd only be a burden to her--they simply don't have the power. Moses protests this, but:
Jay: Look at reality, Moses.
Jay: We were defeated by Schwartz before we could even lift a finger.
Moses: So what?!
Jay: This isn't something we can just solve with our emotions!
Shirley: Is there really nothing we can do?...
Grune: There's no need to despair. This is my responsibility to fulfill.
After a few more exchanges, Moses storms off. Grune tells them to forget what they've heard, because "it's not something that humans need," and they sort of disperse after that. Jay returns to the Oresoren village, where he has a revelation of sorts . . . .
Jay: I can't believe I didn't realize it until I came back here...What am I doing?
Jay: How can I make fun of Moses if I act like this myself?
Jay: Why am I worrying about a question I already know the answer to?
Jay: You fight because you have something you want to protect. It doesn't matter whether or not you can win.
Jay: Right?
Jay: I don't need dinner or a bath right now. I have somewhere I need to go.
Jay: I still have something I have to do.
Quppo: Jay, your eyes show great determination.
Pippo: That's the Jay we know.
Poppo: We're always on your side, Jay.
Jay: I'm going now. I'll see you when I get back.
They tell him they'll be waiting for him. The memory ends there.
WHAT HE LEARNED
+ confirmation that Grune DID change after she regained her memory
+ Schwartz is meant to bring about oblivion/the end of the world, and Grune is her opposite/destined opponent
+ Schwartz/the black mist represents human weakness, and Nerifes' desire to save people from their suffering (suicide drive?!)
+ she had an enormous amount of power, because people want to escape their suffering
+ a-as a sidebar there's also some stuff about Nerifes that implies THINGS
EFFECTS
+ 500 determination to always fight!! No matter what!
+ 50 wow what the fuck is this darkness mist
+ 100 wait *is* it Darkness mist and if so what does that even mean . . . .
