ready as we'll ever be

[tellthestory]

[The Balladeer is true to his word. So, before the dead's scheduled performance, still dressed in the outfit Salieri forced him to helped him choose, he takes his guitar and sneaks out to the garden one last time. He hasn't visited it yet today, and he always feels guilty when he doesn't manage. He told everyone he'd be here. Even if neither of them can hear each other, he intends to keep his promise.

So he's there to notice when the trees begin closing in. The Balladeer shoots to his feet. Oh, no. He knows this feeling.]

Everyone! Come out to the garden! Bring your stuff!

[He calls out aloud, but he can use that projection trick just as well as the Player - his voice is audible anywhere in the school.

When people arrive to join him, there will still be a path through the woods to lead them to the garden. He doesn't want to strain himself before the performance, but something as small as that shouldn't cause problems later. It's too important that everyone get out here - because when people arrive, they'll find that all of the living are visible. The Balladeer is watching them, but making no attempt to interact; he already knows how this is going to go. It isn't time for that yet. Still...]

It's the end.

[Have fun spectating the trial!]

Comments

[wanderlusttitania]

A paradox?

[howtheworldwas]

[ thank you sissi for asking all the right questions on behalf of all these historicals ]

[wanderlusttitania]

[TBF she...sort of understands the concept of paradox. It's a contrary action related to another direct action. It's the root of the word, from Greek paradoxon.]

Contrary...

[She doesn't know the science of it, but...probably...It's Not Good.]

[voicerights]

[And the SQUIP seems...outright agitated, now, that it's realizing a few things?]

You cannot undo things and have your work still happen. If you went back in time to stop another thing from happening - how would you to know to go back in the first place? You are erasing everything that led up to your choices in the first place. You are-

[...]

Discord. Help me explain.

[disharmonizes]

He'll undo everything and, thusly, erase the very events that made him do all this in the first place.

Which will either mean that everything will be destined to happen all over again or, more likely, he's just going to fracture reality even more.

[voicerights]

[thanks Discord, SQUIP is too busy calculating ramifications and kind of

yeah

giving reality an ERROR: RUNTIME LOOP? how about no]

[disharmonizes]

[...just gonna give it a slight smack on the back of the head. lightly. for once.]

Don't get caught up in trying to divide zero there, you'll just give yourself a headache.

[voicerights]

[beepboopbeep- why yes, it said that out loud]

-I'm fine. We have even more of a reason to succeed, now.

[disharmonizes]

What, you still needed more motivation?

[voicerights]

No, but this is bigger than we first thought.

[howtheworldwas]

[ eurydice watches this completely poker-faced, except for the fact that her eyebrows are raised a tiny amount. she's having the time of her life. ]

[violentenvies]

[lmao Salieri is going to elbow the SQUIP at the same time Discord smacks it so lmao a reboot from both sides???]

[voicerights]

[beep!]

[violentenvies]

Better?

[voicerights]

...yes.

[please don't tagteam it again, it's baby]

[wanderlusttitania]

...

..............................

.....................................................

My God-that--

What the fuck is wrong with this man!?

[disharmonizes]

A long, long list of things, I'm sure.

And many more once I get my hands on him.

[violentenvies]

[Hello what.

Salieri is going to turn and stare at her for a moment, startled--before he can't help but smirk. Good for her. If any time would warrant it, it would be now.]

I agree with the sentiment.

[wanderlusttitania]

Thank goodness I'm not the only one who finds this utterly insane.

[violentenvies]

It's completely mad.

[....]

Fucking insane, if you will. [drawled, letting some of that aggravation through]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus is gonna just lean against the tree and have a think about that -

Nope! Still doesn't make sense. ]

So if he does it, and it never happens so he never does it, then it happens all over again and he does it so he doesn't do it, again. Or he does it, and it never happens, and he remembers to do it somehow, but he's - split. Parallel, like the SQUIP was, and that causes more problems?

[voicerights]

A split timeline isn't necessarily a problem. But this is beyond that.

[disharmonizes]

Mortal minds really just don't have the capacity to foresee all the consequences of rewriting reality. Thinking they know better just because they saw one part of it, I mean, the god complex of it all!

[themuseabandonsyou]

Okay. Right. Because you're in split timelines, and the other yous seem okay? But this would be worse. Fractured. Is that - because it's touching so many different people's timelines? Like trying to untie a knot made out of too many threads, and you might snap them before you get it all undone.

[ He's doing his best here. Honestly, the notion of undoing every murdergame that ever was - he can't help but be a little sympathetic? So he's grasping, here, trying to understand just what makes it so bad. ]

[wanderlusttitania]

Like the Gordion Knot?

[Maybe this helps?]