Thanks for calling. If you're reaching out to sell your soul, I'll already know and I'll be there soon. If you're calling to just talk, leave a message and I'll call you back when I can. Which will probably be soon. Talk to you then~
[The music continues to play as the scenes around them slow down to more of a crawl. Max looks around in the memory for a moment before they start to rewind around them, all playing in reverse.]
Interesting. So the initial titan exists as part of the power itself, perhaps? Or connects in some way through each who holds the power you and your successor inherited. Hmmm. Part of their soul, perhaps. Or just consciousness. Interesting.
For the sake of your grey matter and psyche, we won't go knocking through memories to find her. If she is out of reach, perhaps that is for the best. Still, interesting. Animals they leave alone. What about fellow Titans?
[She nods, feeling that his theory is as good as it gets. The connection between the generations of titan shifters and indeed all Eldians is hard to understand even for her and Eren who've seen the Coordinate, that impossible tree of light.]
Fellow titans are left alone as well... unless the Founding Titan were to command otherwise. That initial titan is different from the others. It has the power to control not only the "pure" titans, but even the people in their regular state - to alter their memories and even their physiology, or to compel them into action against their will.
[She feels self-conscious, having to explain something so convoluted and increasingly absurd, but she's all the more grateful for Max' patience and the apparent ease with which he absorbs the information.]
Someone suggested that I try using that power to undo the curse altogether, but even if I were to succeed, the world wouldn't forgive my people. We may not deserve forgiveness, but...
[Her hands clench into fists at her sides.]
If there's a way to save everyone - the rest of the world from the titans, and my people from the world's hate -, I want to pursue it.
If that is the case then, perhaps the space I have to offer will work for you and your people in the long term. After I fix it up to make it more appealing, I can move you and the Titans to it. In exchange, should I require assistance with an enemy, I would like to be able to request the assistance of you and your Titans.
[She hesitates, but then continues honestly. Max hasn't been offended at anything so far, so surely, he won't balk at this either.]
You've seen what suffering the titans caused. While I understand how they might be useful to you, I'd prefer to try and do away with this curse - or, should that prove impossible, at least allow my people to live without being transformed into such terrible monsters.
...
In that case, I suppose I could surrender those already turned into titans, but...
[Once again, she struggles. Isn't that a cruel suggestion? Those who were turned into titans, unaging and undying over the course of generations, are still her subjects. To make them the payment for the other Eldians' freedom is certainly an injustice.
But wasn't it an injustice to leave part of their people behind on the continent to serve their former victims? Wasn't it an injustice to rob those her ancestor took with him of their memories of the world? Perhaps, there'll never be a perfect solution. She won't be able to save everyone, no matter what - generations are already lost to the circle of life and death, never having learned of the truth. And if she wants such a big favour granted, there needs to be a price to pay.]
[Max keeps strumming the guitar as Frieda speaks. That is a big ask and he can tell she knows it. She understands how big it is, though, that is a lot of effort to do either of those things.]
You want to save as many of them as possible. A kind act. Though an ambitious one. To remove their curse entirely would mean to change them all into humans. Remove that which turned them into Titans in the first place. Which would mean delving into you, your ancestors, and forcing our way to the origin. To find where it all began and cut the strings.
Then, once that's done, I could use my abilities to manipulate you and your people. Turn you all human. No more Titan transformations. Revert all stuck as Titans beck into human form. Then relocate all of your people to a new world.
[Hearing it all summarised like that really makes it sound as ambitious as the construction of the Towel of Babylon - but that is indeed the plan, barring a few details Frieda needs to reassess.]
It is, overall. But I fear that I may not be able to follow my ancestors' memories to the original Founder's.
[She can hardly discern which of her predecessors the random memories that do surface belong to, only able to vaguely define the era by the people's clothing and surroundings.]
I understand that without establishing contact with her, your powers wouldn't be be able to reach all of my people either, right? I may need to enlist my successor's help for this. He knows more about the Founder than I do.
[It's bizarre since Eren shouldn't be able to use the Founder's powers in even the limited capacity that Frieda can, but... somehow, he attained a better understanding of it than she did.]
I may need to confer with him regardless - if we are to implement this plan, my countrymen here in Ellipsa should be made aware. They've been kept in the dark about too many things already.
Truth be told, I could probably tear my way through the memories and find the Founder myself. Or I could use the Contagion to mold it to and split it open to find the Founder that way. Thing is, the Contagion is by definition, contagious. And I would rather not risk infecting you with it.
[Max hums.]
We can postpone payment discussions until I speak with your successor and the others from your world. To do this, I will need payment from all of them if they wish to help subvert the payment for you. Otherwise, for all of this? The price will be steep.
[When Max said "We" before, Frieda didn't dare hope that he'd be able to take such an active role in the search for the Founder Ymir - but he is a deity! At the caveat that follows, her bright gaze lowers again, but not in disappointment. If the Contagion is best left as a last resort, she'll defer to his knowledge - just knowing that the possibility exists is enough to keep her hope alive.]
I thank you for being so considerate, but my sanity and soul would truly be a small price to pay for my people's freedom.
[She doubts that her countrymen would think otherwise, given all their grievances with her - but even so, she mustn't strike this deal behind their back. Much as her vow compels her to act alone, she's come to understand the cost of her ancestor's exclusion of his people from all his decisions.]
I will speak with all of them, tell them of the plan, and put them in contact with you.
[It's a daunting prospect... what will they say? But ultimately, this is for their loved ones, too.]
For now, I'd have one more request, if you allow me: Could you show me Arcadia?
[Max smiles. Of course he is going to do this. He is serious about wanting to help. Max is a hands-on deity when he can. It isn't a common occurrence but if he can, oh he revels in it. Even if it's challenging and possibly esoteric in nature.]
You're welcome. It may be a small price to you but checking with the others is a good idea. And let them know they can ask me any and all questions they like. I'll be open and honest to them.
[He changes the song at the request. The setting around them changes. It shifts and drains away from Frieda's memories and into one of Max's. His Arcadia appears around them. Or rather, his Arcadias. The surrounding area is a mix of locations.
One is a small town from the looks of it. It stretches into another village. Wooden houses, old style windows and dirt roads. Then beneath then the ground opens and below are rings connected by music notes and strings. There are seven of them. The rings are devoid of life except for running water that flows from the first ring down all of them to the last. It's quite lonely looking. Floating around the rings are a few floating islands, a forest, a castle, and a flower field.]
[She nods at the offer, once more appreciative of how easy-going and open he is. It's almost assured that the others will have questions (and for better or worse, right now she can't yet anticipate just how mistrustful a number of them are of the fae).
As her inherited memories give way to his Arcadia, she marvels at its sights. The settlements remind her of home - of the more rural areas, in any case. But cobblestone streets and townhouses can be built in time; she has faith in her people.
The underground area is more of a strange sight, especially the musical rings. To her, it looks like a complex fountain installation. The presence of the castle makes her wonder. In her plan, there's no place for herself - she feels that she's forfeited the right to still be with her people. But who will rule the unwalled new nation instead? Without the circumstances of Historia's future, she may well be spared the part, and Frieda feels an equal measure of comfort and concern at the thought.]
So my Arcadias aren't all directly connected. The rings down there is Hell, or was. The old style village is Tobytown. It's a place under my protection and control. Then thA modern town, well modern by my standard, is called Madison. Every part is connected here because that's how they sit in my mind. In truth, you need Hedgegates to get to them all.
The rings, being below, is because it exists in a dimension just parallel and below the physical plane. But it also kinda pokes up into the Hedge as well, as all Arcadias do. I just picked this kind of fun three dimensional map so you could see them all, all at once.
I'm sorry, but a lot of what you just said went over my head. In reality, these places are all separate from each other? Would my people reside in the rings, then?
[Also--]
What is the Hedge?
[Is it something like the Paths - a metaphysical space from which different dimensions can be accessed?]
That's the plan. All seven rings would be for your people. However they wanted to live there. Travel between the rings is easy. You just ride the music up and down.
The Hedge is another dimension. The world of the Wyrd. A sort of cosmic force that's alive but you can't like talk to it. It is part of everyone and everything fairy. There are thorns everywhere with trods and roads to navigate them. The thorns can drag through you and cut more than your skin. They tear your very soul if you happen to get dragged through them.
["You just ride the music up and down", he says..! She hopes he'd be willing to instruct her people on such matters, or at least show her so she could teach them. But already, he continues to expand her horizon further.]
I... don't assume that my people could just end up in the Hedge by accident?
[To her, it sounds like it might be the origin dimension on fairies - or of one kind of fairy, at least -, and clearly it's far from hospitable! After her experiences in the local fairy kingdom, she feels like there few to none of their domains are particularly human-friendly (or even fairy-friendly, going by Max' account).]
Were you able to heal your soul from the thorns' damage?
They shouldn't end up there on accident. I only allow one Hedge Gate in all of the circles and that's in my office. And the door stays locked unless I need it opened. So your people should be safe, so long as we don't have an invasion into my Arcadia. And that's unlikely.
No, I never did. Out there somewhere is a shard of my soul, floating around, doing whatever.
[He says that last part so flippantly. Like he doesn't care though his expression doesn't quite match it.]
[An invasion being unlikely, but not impossible, concerns her... but then again her world also didn't foresee (or welcome) the genesis of the titans. Some things, she reasons, just cannot be guaranteed. Perhaps to escape that uneasy feeling, she focuses on the state of Max' soul.]
Does that not concern you? Can't you feel a piece missing?
[She honestly has a hard time grasping the concept of a soul, let alone the impact of it being damaged!]
It's like a phantom pain, sometimes. I notice it missing only now and then. Honestly, I miss my own shadow more. The one I have now is a replacement, a prosthetic built out of a True Fae who tried to get one over on me.
The level of concern I have about my missing soul shard is something I'm less likely to share with about anyone. Sorry, Frieda. That's not a topic I am going to share.
[It's important and complicated. That little piece of soul torn from him and missing. It's one of the very few things that can hurt him in his world. And last time he encountered it, someone turned it into buckshot. Not a fun time.]
[Not only did he eat the demons he resurrected, he also turned an enemy into his replacement shadow?! Kindly as he's treating her, this man is terrifying! Frieda can feel doubt about her plans creep up in her mind, but what recourse does she have? She can only hope that her people won't give Max any cause to turn against them in the future.]
I understand. Don't worry - you've told me about so many other things. I never knew how many worlds were out there, how many universes... I'd never heard of the Hedge, or of anything else you've shown me. Thank you so much.
[Interesting as it was to see Max' worlds, Frieda is glad to be back in more regular surroundings. With her soda and plum cake still waiting for her, she eats and drinks, hunger and thirst from everything she had to process and relate winning out over her exhaustion and overwhelmedness. (This entire time, she's been assuming that it's safe to partake since they aren't in a fairy realm... but if she's wrong about that, well!)]
That would be nice! But first, I'll speak to my fellow countrypeople here about the matter. It's a very big endeavour for all of us.
[Alas, so she thinks...]
My head is spinning, honestly. Our own history is so much already, and everything you told me is important, too. May I reach out to you if I need any clarification or reminders?
[She assumes as much, forthcoming as he's been, but it's polite to ask!]
[The food and drink is safe, thankfully. At least Frieda doesn't have to worry about that.]
Of course you can take time to talk to your fellow countrypeople first. And feel free to reach out for any clarifications or reminders. It's a lot to take in and it can get overwhelming easily. You can let your countrypeople know too that they can reach out with any questions, quips, and concerns too.
[She smiles at him even inviting quips. He's a man of contrasts, isn't he? Finishing up her sweet meal, she inclines her head in gratitude as she gets up from her seat. While the renewed memories of her ancestors and some of Max' revelations still have her a little shaken inside, her new hopes shine through more strongly.]
You'll hear from me, then. Again, thank you very much.
[Little does she know just how suspicious and mistrustful her fellow Eldians will be! It'll take her a while to accept their judgement - longer than she anticipates -, but it won't be the last time she's spoken to Max.]
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2024-11-29 04:53 am (UTC)From:Interesting. So the initial titan exists as part of the power itself, perhaps? Or connects in some way through each who holds the power you and your successor inherited. Hmmm. Part of their soul, perhaps. Or just consciousness. Interesting.
For the sake of your grey matter and psyche, we won't go knocking through memories to find her. If she is out of reach, perhaps that is for the best. Still, interesting. Animals they leave alone. What about fellow Titans?
no subject
Date: 2024-11-29 10:50 am (UTC)From:Fellow titans are left alone as well... unless the Founding Titan were to command otherwise. That initial titan is different from the others. It has the power to control not only the "pure" titans, but even the people in their regular state - to alter their memories and even their physiology, or to compel them into action against their will.
[She feels self-conscious, having to explain something so convoluted and increasingly absurd, but she's all the more grateful for Max' patience and the apparent ease with which he absorbs the information.]
Someone suggested that I try using that power to undo the curse altogether, but even if I were to succeed, the world wouldn't forgive my people. We may not deserve forgiveness, but...
[Her hands clench into fists at her sides.]
If there's a way to save everyone - the rest of the world from the titans, and my people from the world's hate -, I want to pursue it.
no subject
Date: 2024-11-30 03:43 am (UTC)From:How do those terms sound as a starting place?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-01 03:45 pm (UTC)From:[She hesitates, but then continues honestly. Max hasn't been offended at anything so far, so surely, he won't balk at this either.]
You've seen what suffering the titans caused. While I understand how they might be useful to you, I'd prefer to try and do away with this curse - or, should that prove impossible, at least allow my people to live without being transformed into such terrible monsters.
...
In that case, I suppose I could surrender those already turned into titans, but...
[Once again, she struggles. Isn't that a cruel suggestion? Those who were turned into titans, unaging and undying over the course of generations, are still her subjects. To make them the payment for the other Eldians' freedom is certainly an injustice.
But wasn't it an injustice to leave part of their people behind on the continent to serve their former victims? Wasn't it an injustice to rob those her ancestor took with him of their memories of the world? Perhaps, there'll never be a perfect solution. She won't be able to save everyone, no matter what - generations are already lost to the circle of life and death, never having learned of the truth. And if she wants such a big favour granted, there needs to be a price to pay.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-02 05:42 am (UTC)From:You want to save as many of them as possible. A kind act. Though an ambitious one. To remove their curse entirely would mean to change them all into humans. Remove that which turned them into Titans in the first place. Which would mean delving into you, your ancestors, and forcing our way to the origin. To find where it all began and cut the strings.
Then, once that's done, I could use my abilities to manipulate you and your people. Turn you all human. No more Titan transformations. Revert all stuck as Titans beck into human form. Then relocate all of your people to a new world.
Is that the entire sum of your request?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-02 04:55 pm (UTC)From:It is, overall. But I fear that I may not be able to follow my ancestors' memories to the original Founder's.
[She can hardly discern which of her predecessors the random memories that do surface belong to, only able to vaguely define the era by the people's clothing and surroundings.]
I understand that without establishing contact with her, your powers wouldn't be be able to reach all of my people either, right? I may need to enlist my successor's help for this. He knows more about the Founder than I do.
[It's bizarre since Eren shouldn't be able to use the Founder's powers in even the limited capacity that Frieda can, but... somehow, he attained a better understanding of it than she did.]
I may need to confer with him regardless - if we are to implement this plan, my countrymen here in Ellipsa should be made aware. They've been kept in the dark about too many things already.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-03 04:02 am (UTC)From:[Max hums.]
We can postpone payment discussions until I speak with your successor and the others from your world. To do this, I will need payment from all of them if they wish to help subvert the payment for you. Otherwise, for all of this? The price will be steep.
It will cost you your soul if you pay alone.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-03 04:25 pm (UTC)From:I thank you for being so considerate, but my sanity and soul would truly be a small price to pay for my people's freedom.
[She doubts that her countrymen would think otherwise, given all their grievances with her - but even so, she mustn't strike this deal behind their back. Much as her vow compels her to act alone, she's come to understand the cost of her ancestor's exclusion of his people from all his decisions.]
I will speak with all of them, tell them of the plan, and put them in contact with you.
[It's a daunting prospect... what will they say? But ultimately, this is for their loved ones, too.]
For now, I'd have one more request, if you allow me: Could you show me Arcadia?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-08 06:50 am (UTC)From:You're welcome. It may be a small price to you but checking with the others is a good idea. And let them know they can ask me any and all questions they like. I'll be open and honest to them.
[He changes the song at the request. The setting around them changes. It shifts and drains away from Frieda's memories and into one of Max's. His Arcadia appears around them. Or rather, his Arcadias. The surrounding area is a mix of locations.
One is a small town from the looks of it. It stretches into another village. Wooden houses, old style windows and dirt roads. Then beneath then the ground opens and below are rings connected by music notes and strings. There are seven of them. The rings are devoid of life except for running water that flows from the first ring down all of them to the last. It's quite lonely looking. Floating around the rings are a few floating islands, a forest, a castle, and a flower field.]
Welcome to my Arcadia.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-08 06:50 pm (UTC)From:As her inherited memories give way to his Arcadia, she marvels at its sights. The settlements remind her of home - of the more rural areas, in any case. But cobblestone streets and townhouses can be built in time; she has faith in her people.
The underground area is more of a strange sight, especially the musical rings. To her, it looks like a complex fountain installation. The presence of the castle makes her wonder. In her plan, there's no place for herself - she feels that she's forfeited the right to still be with her people. But who will rule the unwalled new nation instead? Without the circumstances of Historia's future, she may well be spared the part, and Frieda feels an equal measure of comfort and concern at the thought.]
It's beautiful. But why is this area underground?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-13 04:39 am (UTC)From:The rings, being below, is because it exists in a dimension just parallel and below the physical plane. But it also kinda pokes up into the Hedge as well, as all Arcadias do. I just picked this kind of fun three dimensional map so you could see them all, all at once.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-13 05:00 pm (UTC)From:I'm sorry, but a lot of what you just said went over my head. In reality, these places are all separate from each other? Would my people reside in the rings, then?
[Also--]
What is the Hedge?
[Is it something like the Paths - a metaphysical space from which different dimensions can be accessed?]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-14 05:06 am (UTC)From:The Hedge is another dimension. The world of the Wyrd. A sort of cosmic force that's alive but you can't like talk to it. It is part of everyone and everything fairy. There are thorns everywhere with trods and roads to navigate them. The thorns can drag through you and cut more than your skin. They tear your very soul if you happen to get dragged through them.
Happened to me once. I don't recommend it.
no subject
Date: 2024-12-15 05:00 pm (UTC)From:I... don't assume that my people could just end up in the Hedge by accident?
[To her, it sounds like it might be the origin dimension on fairies - or of one kind of fairy, at least -, and clearly it's far from hospitable! After her experiences in the local fairy kingdom, she feels like there few to none of their domains are particularly human-friendly (or even fairy-friendly, going by Max' account).]
Were you able to heal your soul from the thorns' damage?
no subject
Date: 2024-12-16 01:33 am (UTC)From:No, I never did. Out there somewhere is a shard of my soul, floating around, doing whatever.
[He says that last part so flippantly. Like he doesn't care though his expression doesn't quite match it.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-17 01:35 am (UTC)From:Does that not concern you? Can't you feel a piece missing?
[She honestly has a hard time grasping the concept of a soul, let alone the impact of it being damaged!]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-30 02:11 am (UTC)From:The level of concern I have about my missing soul shard is something I'm less likely to share with about anyone. Sorry, Frieda. That's not a topic I am going to share.
[It's important and complicated. That little piece of soul torn from him and missing. It's one of the very few things that can hurt him in his world. And last time he encountered it, someone turned it into buckshot. Not a fun time.]
no subject
Date: 2024-12-30 02:10 pm (UTC)From:I understand. Don't worry - you've told me about so many other things. I never knew how many worlds were out there, how many universes... I'd never heard of the Hedge, or of anything else you've shown me. Thank you so much.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 01:21 am (UTC)From:[He snaps his fingers and the mindscape will end, them both back in their chairs in the room with tea and snacks ready for them.]
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 01:25 pm (UTC)From:That would be nice! But first, I'll speak to my fellow countrypeople here about the matter. It's a very big endeavour for all of us.
[Alas, so she thinks...]
My head is spinning, honestly. Our own history is so much already, and everything you told me is important, too. May I reach out to you if I need any clarification or reminders?
[She assumes as much, forthcoming as he's been, but it's polite to ask!]
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 05:02 pm (UTC)From:Of course you can take time to talk to your fellow countrypeople first. And feel free to reach out for any clarifications or reminders. It's a lot to take in and it can get overwhelming easily. You can let your countrypeople know too that they can reach out with any questions, quips, and concerns too.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-02 08:00 pm (UTC)From:You'll hear from me, then. Again, thank you very much.
[Little does she know just how suspicious and mistrustful her fellow Eldians will be! It'll take her a while to accept their judgement - longer than she anticipates -, but it won't be the last time she's spoken to Max.]