crystal.

[cozen]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Byerly & Bastien
RECIPIENT: Everyone EXCEPT Benedict, Derrica, Ellie, Gela, Mobius, Peter Parker, Stephen Strange, Tony Stark, Viktor, Wysteria, and Yseult.
NOTES: Death mentions. Also don't ask me why no one gets a last name in the list above except the MCUs. They just felt weird without them.

Bonjour! We were thinking–the Ambassador and I–we should do something to thank some of the people involved in recovering everyone we lost. Of course we all do our jobs and everything is very dangerous all of the time, but this does seem a little above and beyond. Rewriting time. Risking–I don't know. Vaporization.

Becoming lost in time. Being sent back to the Towers Age to live out your lives dodging Darkspawn in the…Ttthiiirrrd Blight? I think it was the Third Blight in the Towers Age.

Wasn't that the one where Orlais let the Free Marches burn for a decade before they came to help? It might feel just like home, [ is a conversation that could go on for quite some time, but as a gift to everyone listening in, Bastien refocuses on the point. ] We ought to do something for them.

So we ought. Bastien ought to have something done for him, as well, [ is debatable, Bastien would say, but debates only draw attention ] but instead he’s organizing this, so he’ll have his particular comeuppance later. For now, we’re focusing on the others who risked life, limb, and temporal sanity for us. A party, to start with —

But not to end with, because not everyone who helped is really a party person, we think. So something quieter, too. Everyone could sign a letter? Or write your own.

Or gifts, [ is one last suggestion. ] Exchange ideas. Plan. Give inspiration.

Comments

[muckspout]

What the maker are you on about?

[He's often not understood people, but this is beyond the pale. However--]

Can I come to your party?

[bouchonne]

You're required to come to the party. No escape.

[muckspout]

[uh oh.]

This isn't a fun party, is it?

[cozen]

Why would we thank people with a party that isn’t fun?

[muckspout]

Why would Byerly threaten me if it was a fun party?

[cozen]

That was not a threat. That was a command. There’s a difference.

[muckspout]

[Not to Edgard.]

Why would Byerly command me if it was a fun party?

[bouchonne]

Some people die of too much fun. It's a dangerous job, having fun.

[pathlit]

[ Re: that last part— ]

I can work with leather and metal… if they might appreciate a bespoke journal or pendant or, well— something else.

[bouchonne]

I think our nerds would like that very much.

[ Byerly managed to pick up the word "nerd" from his visit to Earth. It's proven useful. ]

[pathlit]

[ Lightly: ] Even the non-nerds might find use in paper. Are there any plants in Thedas that represent overcoming adversity... or... defiance?

[cozen]

Maybe for the researchers you could make coins that say remember the time thing on one side and trust me on the other? So they can cash them in when any of us doubt them in the future.

[pathlit]

That's... [ A brief pause, then a soft huff of a laugh. ] Yeah. I like it. I'll need a stipend for some of the materials -- will you help me with that?

[thereneverwas]

Have we got any composers of odes amongst us?

[cozen]

Not that I’ve heard of.

[thereneverwas]

Maybe Messere Bachs could be convinced.

[glossator]

I'm guessing cold hard coin isn't on the table.

[cozen]

Not out of hand. But it is so impersonal, no?

[glossator]

Are you all friends?

[You guys need hobbies outside this fortress.]

[bouchonne]

Is that a note of judgment I hear in your voice?

[glossator]

There's a whole city across the harbor.

[bouchonne]

Eugh. Full of Free Marchers and Orlesians.

[glossator]

[Glances at Riftwatch's roster.]

Of course. My mistake.

[cozen]

[ oh no Villain-Coded Bones has no one made friends with you?? ]

Not all of us. But I would guess nearly all of us have a friend who was dead and now is not.

[glossator]

[He's busy. And won't be caught dead doing overtime.]

Not that I'm disapproving of the thoughtfulness. I'd just expect some of them might know what to do with a bit of extra money in their pocket if you're not. Friends, I mean.

[obdurata]

Wysteria might enjoy lecturing on the work that they did. Maybe an afternoon tea, before your party.

[cozen]

That’s a wonderful idea. Something very dignified.

And it would be useful, too. It would good for everyone to know more—you never know when the rest of us will come across something similar in the future, or stumble on something that might be useful to Research but not know how to recognize it.

[obdurata]

Makes for a useful compromise, while we're not in a position to safely publish much.

( both to avoid giving up valuable information to their enemies, and to avoid losing wysteria de fonce completely to academia. )

[armd]

Maybe we should give them all a get out of chores free card, or something.

[bouchonne]

Wait, were we supposed to have been doing chores? Have I been slacking?

[ Says the man who works Benedict like a drudge. ]

[armd]

You're a division head, you don't have chores. The rest of us do.