( video, un: koriel - slightly forward-dated )

[passio]

[ on the morning of the 14th, everyone’s feeds get to enjoy what appears to be a somber-looking video of a somber-looking man. his shoulders are hunched, his eyes downcast, and one might wonder why he’s making a video if he’s going to look this sad while doing it. don’t worry about it. ]

It’s…

[ he falters. he should have planned this out a little better. ]

I’m sorry to bring them up again, but what was said about the Oracles of the Sinless has been weighing on my mind. One of those members mentioned wanting to “reset” the world…

[ a new game+, as tarn put it. ]

My world is… I… [ although he can't finish his thoughts, it doesn't sound like he's getting emotional. his voice is quiet, but even-toned. ] It’s been destroyed. Most people are dead, and those that aren’t are… unwell. And when I think about that, the idea of resetting the world doesn’t seem wrong.

[ he seems to realize that he’s dangerously close to spreading cult propaganda, and he looks up at the camera with the first fluctuation of emotion—from a kind of downtrodden pensiveness to concern. ]

But I don’t think it seems right, either. I don’t know. [ he glances away from the camera once again. ] The Sinless must be scared. They don’t want the world to get worse. Our arrival here… it makes beautiful things, but maybe…

…um. I wanted to know what everyone else thinks.

Comments

[accurately]

It's hard to forget.

[ It was a decidedly odd conversation for Midorima to have. He's thought about it since then. ]

[passio]

[ dextera isn’t surprised to hear that, but the nature of the conversation also makes dextera feel guilty. midorima is only human, after all, and by his own admission, his world has only humans in it. somehow, it’s like dextera has burdened him with his presence. ]

I didn’t lie. I was born a human.

[ just to clarify. ]

But after that day… May 14th. After the Blaze, I became a part of God.

[ the options now are that dextera is either completely insane, or he really is a deity sharing a table with midorima and sipping some juice. ]

[accurately]

[ There's a period of silence after Dextera confesses that, and a lot of it has to do with Midorima simply not knowing how to accept that as a fact. His world is very normal and while he's come to accept things like magic and sex energy, someone he speaks to somewhat regularly bring part of God sounds outlandish at best. ]

That's difficult to conceive after our trip to the hospital.

[ That wasn't very holy and to Midorima made him consider Dextera decidedly vulnerable. Ungodlike. It's definitely a dig designed to make him feel less bigheaded about the situation, but it also is giving Midorima a means to say he's having trouble processing the idea of that without putting the focus on himself. ]

[passio]

[ …it is difficult to conceive, isn’t it. dextera can acknowledge that. when most people think of god, after all, they think of an infallible being made of light. even before she was lobotomized, however, god was as fragile as any human. dextera resembles her in those ways. ]

I know.

[ dextera pauses, trying to think of how to explain it. ]

But she… and I… are flawed. That’s part of the design. [ he hesitates. ] But maybe I’m not as good at it as she is.

[accurately]

What about you makes you a god?

[ Goddess? He doesn't know. Part of a god. He's usually very good at terminology.

It's going to be very strange for Midorima to say things like "Do your best and god will do the rest" from here on out.

He drinks his own juice quietly while he waits for a response before he can decide. It surely can't just be immortality and his pain orb-bopper. ("Sword" is debateable he thinks, since it doesn't stab or slash??) ]

[passio]

[ in terms of mannerisms, nothing about dextera is especially godlike. he’s barely more than a dog on most days. ]

I…

[ he realizes that he would have to start from the fundamentals of the world if he really wanted to explain what makes him part of the absolute god, but he doesn’t want to do that. even if midorima seems the most apt person to listen to all these details. ]

The world that we live in now… the world I came from, I mean… I created it. [ a beat. ] Re-created it.

[ how complex. dextera shakes his head, as if to get rid of all that he just said. ]

We preserve the world as it is. I just have to make sure it doesn’t get worse.

[accurately]

[ If it's his job to preserve the world and make sure it doesn't get worse, then that's.. both annoyingly lacking in ambition to just hope it doesn't get worse and very explaining of Dextera's consideration of resetting the world. Rather than focusing on his own definitions of gods or what he was considering before, he's able to refocus on the context he's starting to understand a little more around how Dextera is feeling. He failed his world in his role as a god. ]

Your role here is shared with dozens of other Moonblessed, Dextera.

[ The world isn't on his shoulders here anymore. Midorima doesn't know if there were many people like Dextera in his world, but he's hoping it's some comfort that Dextera isn't alone in this task they've ended up here for. ]

[passio]

[ dextera’s eyes widen. ]

…

[ not once has he thought of it like that, but the moment that midorima offers the idea—so plainly, as if it’s merely fact, it clicks into place. that is what they’re doing here, isn’t it? they’re restoring the world from a calamity that struck. it only looks so different because they’re coming many years later.

dextera’s world could look like this too, one day. between the purification and the people’s will, it’s possible. ]

Midorima… I…

[accurately]

Finish your sentences.

[ He says it simply. It's meant as encouragement for him to finish speaking, but the way Midorima says anything is more like a stern dad who refuses to say he cares at all times. ]

[passio]

…

[ midorima’s words appear to have the opposite effect, as dextera shuts his mouth and goes silent, but the reality is that he’s just thinking. being someone who has never needed or wanted to say that much, since the death of his brother, he prefers to take his time in what he wants to say. ]

I never thought about it that way. [ he looks down at the table, but he doesn’t seem ashamed. ] So I’m happy.

[accurately]

[ That's fine if he waits to finish it. Midorima doesn't interrupt or push him more. If anything, Midorima himself as done this. (Much to some peoples' annoyance.) Usually when he's embarrassed or people are fussing after his health/luck issues/taking care of him unprompted. So he doesn't rush him. ]

Then finish up your juice.

[ Midorima is finishing up his. But this is really all he wanted to accomplish was to help Dextera a little.. ]

[passio]

[ if you’re happy and you know it drink your juice. (sip sip) ]

I am. I’m sorry for being slow.

[ dextera wonders if it’s really okay to think of the world around him like that. if it’s all right if he considers his fellow moonblessed gods of a kind. they are, though, in the same sense as the absolute god—not protectors, but creators. it’s the prismals who protect the planet that the moonblessed are working hard to restore. ]

…I would be happy if you still thought of me as human. [ after a pause. ] That’s what I want to be.

[accurately]

Unless you're capable of improving my luck, I'll be treating you the same as ever.

[ dextera is dextera, he's not going to let him get a big head. either way, he's finished with his juice so he gets up to toss away the cup. for what it's worth, he doesn't just ditch dextera- he comes back to the table once he's cleaned up. ]

[passio]

Midorima…

[ perhaps today isn’t so bad after all, if he’s maintained a friend and gotten free juice out of it. then, once midorima returns, dextera has been able to take a moment to compose himself. ]

Thank you for letting me try your juice.

[ his cup is… not empty, but he’s working on it. ]

And thank you for listening to me.

[accurately]

Don't join any cults without talking to me first in the future.

[ Just so they're clear. He can do whatever he wants, but Midorima would like to make sure he's not going off the rails and not realizing important things or feeling alone/vulnerable/whatever. ]

I have to leave for practice in 15 minutes. Hurry up.

[ Dextera can come watch if he wants. ]

[passio]

…

[ in the future, dextera will regret agreeing to this condition, when the archangel shows up and dextera has a moral obligation to (re-)join the cult he was raised in. for now, however, he’s thinking only of the sinless, so he nods.

then: ]

Practice? …for basketball?

[accurately]

Yes.

[ He sits down again for now though, he's not going to stand the full 15 minutes while he waits for Dextera to finish his juice. ]

I have to practice every day.

[passio]

[ dextera has never played basketball. he isn’t confident enough in himself to think that he could ever keep up with midorima, either, but he is a little curious about what it looks like. ]

…I want to come.

[ he’s down to the bottom fourth of his juice, so midorima doesn’t have to wait long. ]

[accurately]

You're coming.

[ Obviously. He says it as if he told him because he's coming with. He had every intention of telling him 'let's go' as soon as Dextera finishes his drink. ]

[passio]

[ he’s coming!

it’s just the kind of bossiness he needs, at a time like this. as ever, midorima strikes the perfect balance between bossiness and kindness, and dextera is happy to follow along.

he tosses away his juice when it’s finished, and he lines up behind midorima like a child.

some god he is. ]

Where do you usually go?

[accurately]

[ Dextera is probably one of the few that identify his kindness easily. Most people just want him to stop demanding things and doing whatever he wants. Midorima appreciates that Dextera doesn't try to rub it in all the time and just lets him be bossy, though. ]

I'm on a basketball team, we have a gymnasium that we have access to for a set period each day. If I want to practice on my own, there is a street court near my home.

[passio]

[ dextera knows jack shit about basketball, so the things midorima is saying make only a moderate amount of sense. (he also hasn’t ever been to a gym, so there’s that.) ]

How do you…

[ okay, he knows this is going to sound ridiculous. he doesn’t know how to soften the blow. ]

How do you play basketball?

[accurately]

[ He hates this question because Midorima doesn't like explaining himself, but it's not the first time he's had to answer it. And he'd rather Dextera have the answer than not. ]

In basketball, two teams who play against each other with the goal of getting the ball through the hoop on your opponent's side of the court. You have to dribble the whole time except to pass and make shots. You cannot hold the ball if your feet are moving, you cannot hold or harm your opponents. Points are scored when shots at the basket are successfully made. Shots are worth 2 points unless made past the three-point line, at which point they are worth three as they are more challenging shots that not as many players can successfully make. [ He's definitely setting himself up to be impressive here. ] The only exceptions are if one team commits a foul by breaking the rules, then the other team gets a free shot worth one point. That's the core information for understanding the game.

[ There's a lot more detailed things, but they're walking and Midorima can't stop to explain plays and strategy and why you can't just be good at making the shots because there are 5 players trying to stop your team from getting through at any given time. Especially not without visuals. ]

[passio]

[ dextera doesn’t understand a word of it. he’s never seen a basketball court, first of all, and he can’t visualize a three-point line or how challenging that is. once he sees it, it’ll probably make sense, but he’s very much a kinetic learner. he learns by dying. ]

…

[ slowly, he nods. ]

I don’t know about the rest of it… but I’m really good at throwing.

[accurately]

You can't just be good at throwing, you have to be good at throwing while someone is blocking you.

[ But it will help. ]