discordia/avaritia | monarch is typing...

[ourtomorrow]

I haven't met many of you. My name is Monarch. I struck the final blow against Esme.

[ He can say that, right? It's a fact. Lion and Ruin did so much - but the one with no choice but to do it had been Monarch. ]

By that point, she had turned into a monster. But when I hit her for the last time, I gained memories. Not mine, but hers.

Esme had a sibling. Lapis. It's Lapis we saw on screens in the Underside. Esme and Lapis were chasing a dream of stardom together, but in the end, only Lapis was chosen. Esme couldn't accept that. She'd hated Lapis since Lapis was born. Esme died full of those feelings.

One instance isn't enough to build a theory upon, but as we search for the Authority of this Layer, people should be aware this occurred. It's possible other Authorities will become monstrous when confronted and we'll regain their memories. It's also possible Esme chose to show me specifically for other reasons, but if so, that's something that might happen to others, as well.

Thanks for your time.

[ And - sent.

Those patrolling Avaritia on their quest for information may find one (1) small boy hiding in an alley spying on the business district. He keeps moving like he wants to check his phone and then stopping his hand. ]

Comments

[ourtomorrow]

Please.

[ Just gonna bite his lips over here. ]

[phantasmagorial]

Well...

[ Prepare for a BIG TEXTWALL, Monarch. ]

I'd say one of the big differences is that anyone in Purgatory could end up having Authority over a particular layer, so long as the circumstances were right. If they hold onto their sins tightly enough and let it eclipse everything else about them, then the world around them ends up bending to their wants and needs.

Becoming an Executor is something you have to consent to... I think. It's not about taking things away or forcing your will on other, but sharing power freely to protect people. Because we have a duty as the people who have power to fight for the people who don't.

There's more to it than that, but even I don't fully understand it a lot of the time.

Did that help, though?

[ourtomorrow]

[ He's not....sure. But he thinks so. One piece in particular stands out. ]

Authorities are made by holding onto their sins.

[ That's....like what Lion had said, isn't it? Not identical, but the key idea is the same. Becoming an Executor is a choice. What happens in Monarch's future, here in the afterlife, is a choice.

He gets to choose whether he's like Esme or not. ]

[phantasmagorial]

That's right. Not just holding onto it, but outright refusing to let go or learn from it. The more you double down, the more it becomes entrenched in you until... it's all you have left, really.

It's sad.

[ourtomorrow]

[ It is. Monarch sits with that knowledge for a while, lets himself dissect it. That level of pain - of blindness to how much she'd been hurting herself - so that's what creates an Esme.

Sin consumes you if you let it. But you don't have to. ]

And then the Authorities encourage that in others.

[ It's almost like.....if you're hurting yourself......the easy release is to.....take it out on other people? ]

[phantasmagorial]

Yes, I think that's the case. It's hard to know for sure when we've only seen Esme in person, but I'd be shocked if that wasn't how it worked.

[ Which is kind of... really unpleasant to think about!!! ]

It's a little scary to imagine that it might have worked on us too, if we hadn't been awake.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch grips his phone a little tighter, catches himself, settles. He feels weirdly...calm now? Like he knows what he needs to do. Something terrible is happening, but he has the ability to make a difference.

That...helps. ]

We can't let more people add to their sins in Purgatory.

[ The Authorities are really gumming up the whole "prepare yourself for the afterlife" process for everyone in so many ways, aren't they? That's awful. They have to be stopped before the cycle continues. ]

[phantasmagorial]

Exactly. We have to do what we can to make sure that when we eventually fix things, people are able to move on. That's our duty.

[ It's one of very few things she feels truly certain of, down here in Purgatory. ]

And
How do I put this
I know it seems cruel to have to do what we did to people like Esme. But being here for so long isn't good for them, in the end.

[ourtomorrow]

[ Huh. An interesting thought. Monarch had mostly been preoccupied with Esme as a Horrible Person who Hurt Others, and himself as Potentially Also That, but....

She's thinking of people like Esme, who have gone too far, as well? Monarch thinks he really does understand why everyone follows her so loyally. He wants to protect her, but at the same time - he admires her. Her compassion, her acceptance....

You have unconsciously reminded MONARCH of a bugge. MONARCH will now die for you. ]

That's true.

[phantasmagorial]

Hopefully, by the time her soul reforms, we'll have repaired the Cogs and she'll be able to move on.
Maybe in her next life, she'll be happier with herself.

[ourtomorrow]

[ A pause while he thinks about this. ]

Second chances....really are remarkable, aren't they.

[ And that's what they're fixing: everybody's second chance.

Monarch feels good about what he's doing again. ]

[phantasmagorial]

They really are. Even for people like Esme – or rather, especially for people like Esme.

[ Maybe she won't POISON ANYONE IN HER NEXT LIFE!!! ]

Did that help at all, Monarch? I'm sorry I still can't explain it as well as I'd like to...

[ourtomorrow]

No, it was very helpful.

Let's save the people in Avaritia, too.