towerofanimus | Endgame: Gathered on This Beach of the Tumid River

Entry tags:

Endgame: Gathered on This Beach of the Tumid River

Characters: open
Setting: all around the Tower from the 25th of May to the 1st of June
Format: any
Summary: A general mingle for all characters throughout the Tower.
Warnings: Standard Animus warnings; please note anything specific in the subject headers of your threads

[The Tower is stagnant, the only signs of activity confined to the second block. There isn't much time left; it might be a good idea to rest and do whatever strikes your fancy before the timer hits zero.]

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Do you?

[Stepping out of the pool, she shakes the remaining water out of her skirt and shoes.]

That is fair enough, I suppose...

[For a brief pause, it seems like she would not go on after all, keeping her reason to herself. Her conversations with him always turn to the strangest things, but why not? Grainne takes a step farther away from the pool before she opens her mouth.]

I come here to avoid them at times like this, when our place of refuge is crowded. And to think in a quiet place.

[She brushes some hair out of her face, and hesitated.]

I do not understand the modern person's need to be constantly engaged in some task. There was always enough time for reflection when we lived.

[Them. Gilgamesh hums and rakes a hand through his hair before returning his hands to his pockets.]

A reflection of the times and the state of human society, of course. Time is money, and money is what rules their lives now. The modern human lives and works to consume, as if every single one of them can live in such a way.

[It was a topic rather far and away from their current situation, but not unwelcome.]

Greed does seem to have a strong hold of state of things, doesn't it? I suppose they wouldn't have gone so far if there wasn't some motivation, though.

And yet it is strange that their greatest pleasures, [she smiles slightly,] are still the ones that humans have always cherished. Stories, legends, entertainment, good companionship.

[Now, here, this is a conversation worth having. The kind Grainne always dreamed about having in the Great Library as a girl.]

Did you expect that to be how humanity turns out?

Humans are full of potential and can "turn out" any number of ways in any number of eras. I did not expect it, but I am not surprised by it.

[It's something of a verbal shrug as he turns his attention back to the pool that Grainne has vacated. His claret eyes follow the ripples along its surface.]

A disappointment, to be sure. Their society of consumption only finds new ways to recycle old pleasures, to propagate an idea that legends and legacies are build on empires of wealth.

Then they miss the finer points. I--

[Grainne had planned on commenting on his observation, but a sudden inspiration hit and she can't let it go.]

What would surprise you?

[He doesn't turn his attention towards her when she cuts herself off. But the following question is worth tilting his head to one side, if only briefly.]

Something that would earn my approval. I was not bored by the people of my time. I was not bored in my interactions with the heroes of my Grail War. Humans are capable of it, but they squander their lives on goals that lack the intrigue and creativity of the past.

Their largest towers are built for the sole purpose being the largest. Their cities grow large only to cultivate more product to be pushed for more money. Their armies only serve to protect that industry of production and consumption.

[It truly was a disappointing era of humanity.]

Hmm...

[Grainne looks away, off into the cavern. There is something in what he says, though she wished she could find some way to disagree, even for the principle of it.

The truth is, modern human society is sort of disappointing. That and the strangeness of the culture was what made up her mind about not wishing for a new life in it alone. There not even her Great Library to find...

Well... Diarmuid had said the whole world was a Great Library now. He might be right... but what worth did knowledge have if it only served to push humanity toward whatever it is racing toward?

There was no reward in simply knowing for its own sake, and she had no people to take the knowledge back to anymore.

Knowing for its own sake. Consuming for its own sake. Thinking like that, it seemed really rather flat.

And then there were people like Kariya...]

They still care, I think.

[And his fate.]

Maybe I should say love.

Of course they do.

[There is a smirk in his voice, as if what was said should have been obvious.]

They would be that much more boring to watch if they had no inkling of that kind of awareness. Like insects building constantly, mindlessly.

So you approve of caring and love?

[From what little she had seen of him in her own world, she never got that impression, but there he also seemed like an entirely different person. Almost.]

You are a strange man.

I am the King of Heroes, and so I am extraordinary in every way.

[He would not bother being disappointed in humanity if he felt they would amount to more.]

I approve of the potential of caring and love. One does not become a hero without them!

Do you only approve of heroes when they show caring and love?

[Why does Grainne suddenly feel like she is back in Tara, debating this or that with the guest of the day? She turns back to look at him at last, almost recovered from her splash in the pool.]

You are still full of paradoxes, my lord.

[The title is worth a glance, even as he maintains the same smirk.]

I am not so undiscerning to approve of it every time it shows itself; even things such as those can become boring and predictable. The lengths to which a human will go is interesting and what spawned heroes, but even heroes are ranked in their greatness.

From what you say, it sounds like becoming a hero for the sake of being a hero would be less interesting than one who never intended on it, who simply did what they thought they had to.

[Grainne shakes her head slightly with a humorless smile.]

The boy who made the book of heroes thinks that everyone brought here is a hero... except himself.

Precisely. There are, of course, other qualifying traits that may build up to my approval, but that it is a basic understanding of it all.

If the boy amounted to something that put all the heroes around him to shame, he would be interesting by his own right.

Oh?

[Grainne smiles slightly, taking a step closer to him, then another.]

He has written down the name of every soul that was ever trapped here. Think of what this place is like, and what it would take to do that. Some of us, the ones used to war and fear, would balk at that dangerous work, and yet this small boy has accomplished that much. I think he has the courage of a great hero already.

[He laughs, peering at the few ripples in the pool that remain.]

Courage or foolishness -- a point that would have to be determined when they stand so close together, especially in a place where danger runs rampant.

Hmm... I can agree with that, knowing many fools who have lost their lives in acts of courage and many courageous men losing everything out of their own foolishness. Much like genius and madness...

[Her own eyes follow his line of sight, wondering what he found so fascinating about the pool.]

It could not hurt to acknowledge the boy's efforts though... does the distinction really matter when the end is so close?

[If he looked at the ripples long enough, he could almost imagine the falling feathers of Ayaka's magic. Darts made of black feathers, useless against Servants but still a sign of what made her intriguing beyond her looks.

Not many people would stand up against Servants as she did.]

That is an indulgence I choose not to spend on a child I have no interest in. But he undoubtedly stroked the egos of many with that book of his, and they will respond in kind.

I have noticed one thing about his book... it is a book made up of things other people have said about their heroes. The length of the pages and how people have responded...

[For once, Grainne's voice fades quietly into silence, not finishing her thought. What would the point be? Archer is as he is. She doubts one discussion with someone he hardly knows will give him anything to think about. Just like her discussions with Diarmuid will not change what he has decided.

And yet in her mind, there could not be two men who were more polar opposites.]

It is of no importance, I suppose... I will leave you to your thoughts now.

[He's not so drawn into his own thoughts not to notice the way that Grainne trails off. His brow is raised with interest as he glances over at her.]

I will be the judge of whether or not it will be of importance. Continue.

[Grainne pressed her lips together slightly, folding her arms.]

I was going to say that it seems the measure of how a hero has affected this place is by the length of the writing on their page, and how many people wrote about them. It is ironic of me... I have been feeling very determined lately that I have no use for heroes.

Obviously the status of "hero" is thrown around here without reservation, and the boy wished to be as inclusive as possible.

[He smirks as he makes a leap in logic.]

So is that the true reason you are here? To get away from anyone considered a hero?

And you would think the king of heroes would at least interest himself a little in the project to make sure it is done right.

[That may have been a tease, though she tilts her head at his next words seemingly in thought.]

Not precisely... if that were so, when you came by I would have simply shifted to spirit form and left by now. Just one or two in particular.

That project only showed another level of the boy's foolishness. I felt no need to do more where he was concerned.

[It was easy enough to dismiss the topic with a wave of his hand, finally turning away from the pool.]

Is that so? You seemed too busy falling into the water to shift to spirit form.

[That earns him a disgruntled huff.]

And that is what I get for only trying to move away from the edge. As much fun as it would be, I do not fly, like some of us.

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