voidtreckernet | Llama Day 20- Video

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Llama Day 20- Video

For those of you who were busy during Della's get to know you session, I'm Death. Not a god thereof, just... Death.

Apparently it's not always common but life also falls under my domain. And Entrapta tells me there are a surprising number of people with soul location issues.

I might be able to help, if you're willing to talk to me about it. I'll be in the rock garden if you want to talk about it.

[Feel free to action on over to the gardens to discuss the matter in a less public venue]

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Soldat takes a while to show up, in part because they're working, putting together meals for the train and for the mission. In part because they want to make sure nobody else is going to be there, too. In part because they're a little terrified of the very idea of putting their... life force, soul, whatever... back in their not-actually-their-original-body body.

But still. They're here, lingering a little by the door into the car, reluctant to approach immediately. But if Death looks, she'll definitely see the lantern, swung around in front of their chest on its strap instead of behind them, as the focal point of Soldat's "life".

[She gives him a moment to consider. She can see there's something unusual. Something that brought him here.]

Were you looking for me?

[They sigh a little, then approach. Slowly.]

I guess. I'm just not sure I want what Entrapta says you can do.

[There's clear advantages to having their life bound up in something they can protect-- just as there are clear disadvantages to that something being actually breakable. But more importantly, two of their headmates technically come from that thing.]

I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want.

[Not when it comes to the location of his own soul. She has strong opinions on people who do these things to others, but so much of that is about people being bound to their own souls]

But why don't we talk about the options?

[That's something of a relief, at least, if she's not absolutely determined to "fix" this. They find a seat on the ground not far from her bench. Or her seat on the ground, if she's not on a bench. The lantern goes by their feet.]

So I'm dead. Technically. Some scientist on a dead world snatched up my life force, stuffed it in this--

[A gentle nudge to the lantern.]

--and made me a new body. Not really sure how.

To be fair, most people are a little fuzzy on how they body was made.

[She considers his words]

So any change wouldn't be putting your life back where it stared, it would be in another new place.

[Soldat figures theirs is a little more complicated than most. They've been remade three times since then, too: two deaths in Beacon, one here in the train. They shake their head a bit.]

Yeah. So it's complicated. And I'd rather not have it try and fly off to find whatever's left of my original body, in some other world a long ways from here.

[And that's just the first and easiest concern. There's a bunch more.]

I should be able to deal with that at least. Especially if it's been a while.

[She spends most of her time easing souls away from their original bodies, after all]

If that's what you want.

I. Don't. Know if it is.

[They're very conflicted, okay. And nervous. They're trying to be more open about this, but it's hard, if nobody actually saw when their headmates took over for a whole day and a half. They look at the ground, chewing the inside of their cheek, then finally say,]

I'm not. Alone. In my head. And some of the others in here. Come from the lantern.

[She nods.]

You don't have to decide right now.

Did the others end up in there the same way your life force did?

No, it's. They're part of me. Sort of.

[They open the metal shutters on the lantern, showing her a crack in the glass, where the light leaking out is a sickly green rather than the healthy gold of the rest.]

This is the Asset. It came to me the same time this damage happened.

[A set of two scratches in the glass on another pane, like fangs dragged down.]

This happened when I died one time, and I woke up with the Bottomless Pit. I don't want to lose them, if I lose the lantern.

[(Well, maybe the Pit. ~~Hey!~~ No. They have their place, too. Even if they're annoying. Of course you'd gone and got attached, ain't you... ugh.)]

Hello Asset and Bottomless Pit.

[It just seems polite to greet them]

I guess there's a few things we can try. Putting all three into your body. Disentangling your life force and leaving the other two in the lantern. Both those options would be new territory, but I should be able to see if anything was about go damage the other two.

Or we leave things the way they are.

[(~~Hello!~~ No.) Soldat looks... vaguely amused.]

The Pit says hello. The Asset just said "no". But that's its favorite word, so.

[They sigh, the amusement draining away again.]

I don't know what to do. Really. It feels like the lantern is a weakness, but. Also sometimes a strength. When there were demons, they couldn't hurt me. Unless they grabbed that. But if it's damaged. I'm hurt. Or I die.

If you leave fighting out of it, how does it feel different then?

[It's their life. It should be about more than just fighting. No matter how many missions are involved.]

[Everything's about fighting, in the end, Death. At least when it comes to supersoldiers. Soldat chews on the inside of their cheek a moment, then says,]

Feels like I'd miss it. Like it's part of my, now. I'm. Most of my happy memories are from the time I had it, you know?

[She nods]

That makes perfect sense to me. Memories are powerful.

[She studies the lantern again.]

It doesn't seem to be doing you any harm.

[They shrug a little.]

It's the only reason I'm alive. And it's a weakness. But also a strength. Mostly I just want to get it more protected, to be honest. But Entrapta said I should at least talk to you.

[It's good to know it's not actively harmful, though. They collect it back up and into their lap, almost protectively.]

Better protection would certainly be a good idea. Everything's a balancing act, especially if you're alive.

I have this.

[They flick the little, tongue-less bell charm attached to the lantern.]

Thanatos made it for me. It will protect the lantern from one potentially lethal blow. Which is probably plenty, in most situations. Entrapta was talking about a resin coating, but I'm not sure if that will hide the light.

[Maybe the light isn't necessary, but they worry what that might do to their own thought processes, to have their life, their "light", hidden away.]

That's a good start. And there's no reason a resin couldn't be clear.

[She'll leave the science to Entrapta though.]

There are pretty durable lanterns in some places.

This one's pretty strong. Comes from a war I fought in. It's supposed to stand up to a lot of banging around, in trenches or camp tents.

[Yes, they've finally placed the shape of the thing to something from World War 2, gotten enough memory back to recognize it. Good job, Soldat.

They pause, then add,]

So you don't think I have to get rid of it? Put my. My life force or whatever into my actual body?

I've seen them before.

[The lantern often survived when the people she was there for... did not]

It seems to be stable. It's a trade off, but you've obviously thought about whether you're willing to make it.

[Soldat nods soberly.]

I can't help but think about it. The place I was before, it was kinda like being on a mission all the time. Had to be careful. We all had lanterns, though, and so we kind of. Protected each other's.

[They start slowly closing the lantern's shutters again, blocking out the light.]

So you've seen World War Two?

Do you have friends here that know you need that?

[It can't be something that's always easy to reveal. But friends are good for that.

She nods at his question.]

It happened in my universe too. And, well...

[Why she's seen it is obvious enough.]

[They nod a few times.]

Most of my friends know that my lantern is what keeps me alive. I did kind of die on my second mission, so. It's been made pretty obvious.

[They settle back a little.]

I fought in that war. I remember some of it. Did your world have HYDRA?

Llama Day 20- Video

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One brief dive into the DC wiki later...

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