AUDIENCE FOR: Hope Estheim

[guestservices]

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[guestservices]

[....

A LOT HAPPENED HERE. they take a few moments to reflect on this, trying to think over what they just saw.]

...am I to assume you were unaware something like that would happen?

[highestheim]

I...actually have no recollection of this happening.

[ ?????? ]

However... I think I understand why that would be the case. This event did happen—in a different iteration of the timeline. While observing Serah and Noel's attempts to solve a paradox in the future with the help of the Oracle Drive, I must have gotten Serah's message and recalibrated the proto-fal'Cie's AI in order for them to be able to defeat it. By doing so, they resolved the paradox and established a future where the proto-fal'Cie never existed in the first place... and the past was changed to reflect that result.

[ ?????????????? ]

[guestservices]

[...]

And by doing so, it means you have no recollection of receiving the message from Serah in the first place, because there would have been no reason for her to send a message as the AI was, essentially, non-existent. And if it didn't exist then she and Noel wouldn't have had to get around the problem in the first place.

A little like leaving your footprint in multiple timelines, then. Seeing how it was caused directly by you.

[highestheim]

Exactly.

[ he, again, is genuinely pleased that gemini gets him without having to explain further! ]

Haha... speaking with you is like a breath of fresh air, sometimes.

[guestservices]

You think so? [they tilt their head in though.] I'm...glad to hear so, actually. I understand it's a bit difficult for people to understand those concepts, and even if I don't understand them in full...I find myself curious anyhow.

[so like. same here.]

[highestheim]

That's the whole point of knowledge, isn't it? We learn, we understand, we innovate, we share—the cycle continues, and we grow and thrive. That is the crux of human nature.

[guestservices]

There isn't any way I could disagree with that. That is the whole point.

[they're ready to say something else, but there's another burst of stardust suddenly, and soon...a memory.

You walk for a while, and you don’t even know where you’re going. Does it matter? You’re together. It’s always been the two of you, even before it was the three of you. And so it doesn’t surprise you when he speaks again.

“I always figured I was better at stuff than you. Are you mad?”

You shrug. “No. I kinda always thought you were better at everything, too.”

There isn’t any room for argument then as you see a light ahead. You respect his wishes to set him down, and the two of you make your way toward the water. You think he’s behind you, and so you idly comment that maybe the two of you are the same. It isn’t until there’s no reply you realize he’s collapsed.

You run. But then you sit down in the sand side by side and watch the waves.

“…if the world is made of light and darkness…we’ll be the darkness.” You hum in your agreement. At least the other side of things is safe. You think that maybe…it wouldn’t be so bad. Being here. Knowing you accomplished something. Knowing you still aren’t alone even if you’re here.

He eventually requests to go to the water, and soon you feel the cool ocean lapping at your feet.

“…to tell you the truth, I was jealous of you. I wished I could live life the way you do. Just…”

You idly think that your best friend is, actually, kind of an idiot.

“Yeah, well, I’ve got my share of problems, too. Like…wanting to be like you.”

His answer surprises you. The advantage of being him…is having you for a friend? After all this time…but no. It does make sense, doesn’t it? After all…

“I’m okay the way I am. I’ve got something you could never imitate, too.”

A comfortable silence settles over you both. The dark sky wraps around you, the sea breeze over your skin and you think that this is it. If this is what the darkness means…you think you can handle it together.

...when it clears...they seem to just...pause.]

[highestheim]

[ it's not very often that you see someone else's memory and have it be familiar to you, too. but that's exactly the situation hope has landed himself in now as he watches this scene through gemini's eyes... the only difference being, of course, that when he witnessed this memory thirteen years ago, he was seeing things from the other person's perspective.

when the stardust fades, there's a glint in hope's eyes, one almost of wonderment as he realizes he knows the identity of the staff member in front of him. ]

You're... Riku's friend. You're Sora.

[guestservices]

[well. hope gets about as far as the s as in sora before he feels a pair of hands suddenly slap across his mouth. the rest of the name is muffled, and they wait for a second.]

Gemini, Mister Estheim.

[...they wait for a few moments...and their hands drop before they speak again. this time, however, the tone sounds...more like what hope heard in the memory.]

...hi, Hope.

[highestheim]

[ oh, this is different. he lets himself be muffled, and simply nods when they let him speak freely again. ]

...Right, sorry. I let myself get complacent. [ he looks genuinely apologetic...! but, again, there's that inquisitive nature of his coming out. ] Have you been aware of your true identity all along? Not like Riku and the other dorm heads, I mean?

[guestservices]

[they linger for a moment...and gemini suddenly is no longer eyelevel with hope and drops to about six inches shorter than him. whew.]

I have all my memories and I know exactly who I am if that's what you mean. Had 'em the whole time, too. [. . .] I knew you were one of his the first time we talked.

[highestheim]

[ oh. they are so small. this surprises hope, who kind of has to take a second to adjust to looking down at them. hewwo smol friend. ]

I see...

[ ... ]

Does that mean I was right, too, about you also being a former participant?

[guestservices]

[they seem to be very, very cautious about what to say even though they are smol and recharging their mp at the moment.]

...I do trust you to keep this to yourself even if I appreciate your, uh, inquisitive nature. [they say, still trying to pull the gemini persona.] Let's just say that losing my memories was definitely a concern once. I understand why you would ask.

[given there was a whole game about memloss.]

[highestheim]

Of course. Anything choose to discuss with me will stay between us. [ and then, because he can't help it: ] No offense, but is the act deliberate?

[ bc like. he can now tell they are Trying ]

[guestservices]

[a few moments of silence:]

What act? I've no idea what you could possibly mean. And furthermore unless it is a complaint that hinders my job performance for this hotel I find it irrelevant to discuss such notions.

[so. don't ask]

[highestheim]

[ just kinda blinks ]

Understood.

[guestservices]

[the tone shifts back to more sora-ish. ]

It just has to be this way. We are staff, you know. Sorry.

[highestheim]

. . .

What about Virgo?

[guestservices]

[they shrug.]

Virgo is Virgo.

[highestheim]

They...certainly are.

[ like. just this face even just thinking about virgo... ]

[guestservices]

Have you talked to them much?

[highestheim]

[ me checking dates and realizing this thread happens before his role post :unamused: ]

I've made attempts. [ ...he shifts a little ] I find it interesting how healing is their specialty, but they're...

[ ...the way they are. ]

[guestservices]

They're very themselves, yes. But I suppose personality cannot always be taken into account if the skill is best.

[... ]

You might as well keep talking to them. It just takes a little bit of effort. I could say the same for Lepus.

[highestheim]

...Fair enough, I suppose. Speaking from experience, I'd always considered healers and medics to be altruistic across the board, but... I guess that's a little naive on my part.

[ weh. :( ]

...what did you mean earlier, when you said you knew I was Riku's from the start? That you'd read my file and found out I had been in his dorm at Wiwaldi?

[guestservices]

Well...I cannot attest to how they think. I suppose you will simply have to ask them themselves.

[...and the gemini persona drops again.]

...he's my best friend. Of course I was going to read everything about him as soon as I could, including the people in his dorm. I...[...] I wanted to make sure he was really okay. That things worked out at Wiwaldi. Even if our timelines were different.