Un: Zodiac | Mid-Month Update

[kaisoumods]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Libra App
WHEN: January 15th
WHAT: Zodiac Network Post
WARNINGS: None!

[We've reached the middle of January. The Zodiac race was a thrilling success, and the winter is still freezing. Wherever you are, your phone will give a blaring alert sound, indicating a new Zodiac post. As usual, the alert will sound even if you have your phone turned off or on silent, and will take over your phone until you read and comment to the message. The post begins like the previous one had, with notifications of peoples coming and goings]



Crito, Flat, Jusis, Ann, Minwu, and Diluc have joined the app. Say hi everyone!


Dolores, Xingqiu, Roxas, Chongyun, and Alphinaud has left the app.

[The post then continues on as normal.]

Hello. Thank you for using the Libra App.

Because you all reacted so positively to my post last month, my bosses has assigned me to write these mid-month updates from now on. Which means I have extra work now. So thanks for that.

Congratulations on everyone who completed the Zodiac race. Hope you enjoyed yourselves somehow or learned something. If any of you took a peach but decide you don't want it, Zodiac will take it off your hands for a payment that's higher than my salary. Which is depressing me just thinking about it, so let's move on.

We're aware that Jusis Albarea from the Black Order has joined the app. It was part of the deal we made with them to help deal with Professor Willow. There will probably be more of them in the future. The Order has insisted they are only here to monitor and assist in what's going on. Zodiac is not liable if any of you manage to do something that makes them decide to take you out, so try to play nice.

Anyway, my shift's over so that's it. Seeya.




This post is sponsored by Victory Road Athletics. Fulfill your new years resolution with our athletic gear. All balls on sale this week!

[Users will have the option to choose their own display names and user pics if they haven't already. If nothing is chosen, the app will use their real name and a quick photo taken of them from their camera's phone. Like always, there'll be no responses from Zodiac.]

Comments

[arrowtotheheal]

For real!

We're stronger with trust no matter how corny that sounds haha.

I don't mind answering. It's just sad really and admittedly my feelings are a little complicated. Her name was Silena and she was a daughter of Aphrodite. I don't know all of the details but our history repeated itself. Silena pretended to be the Ares head councilor so that they could participate in the battle at Manhattan. Unfortunately during their charge she was killed. She died a hero. Without her doing that we would've lost the war. Honestly at the end of the day I just hope she's in Elysium with her boyfriend.

[droptheious]

That DOES sound pretty corny, you are correct :)

[Varian rarely uses emojis but once in a while, he feels the need to slam his nearest and dearest with a Sacarsitc Smiley. You know, for funsies.

He reads that, frowning softly. That hits...a little close to home.]

Sounds like she was trying to right the wrong she did and ended up paying the price of her life in the process. I'm glad she helped you win the war at least. Did people think of her differently after that?

[Because sometimes he wonders how his own legacy would have gone down if he'd died on the airship trying to fix what he'd done instead of living and putting in the hard graft and heartache that came with redemption. Would people have switched their opinions of him immediately? Or would his name have been forever tained by the mistakes he'd made?]

[arrowtotheheal]

I'll happily blame Percy for his corniness rubbing off on me :D

[That's fine, Will's learning the versatility of emojis himself. He'll dish back as good as he's given!]

Some did. I mean her betrayal hurt a lot of people even if she probably didn't want it to. Like she told them about how my cabin was covering the Williamsburg Bridge all by ourselves and we got the brunt of the vanguard as a result. I lost two siblings because of it. Might've lost more if backup hadn't arrived in time. And I think her siblings in the Aphrodite Cabin were also really hurt by both losing her and for her being a traitor

But we're all making our peace with it in our own ways. Some won't forgive her no matter what and some will forgive her in time

[Will's still working through his own emotions regarding Silena, but ultimately he knows that he never wished death on her. He's also certain that he'll find it in his heart to forgive her eventually.]

[droptheious]

[Poor Percy absolutely deserves all of this.]

I'm sorry you lost people. [That's important to say, he feels.] Forgiveness is something that had to be on the other person's timetable. I wondered if her not being around to make things better again might make a difference- now how people would think about her. But it makes sense it wouldn't.

[Which seems like a WEIRD thing to think about - he's sure not revealing how he got to that thought process.]

At least you guys have a chance to heal, right?

[arrowtotheheal]

[Sometimes, Varian, you say things that make Will worry for you.]

I dunno I think it's better to live without the expectation of forgiveness from other people. The hard part is forgiving yourself sometimes so I think that's more important. Even if you earn forgiveness from the people you wronged does it matter if you can't forgive yourself?

We have a chance to heal but I wish she was here to heal with us. Or maybe it's just that I'm selfish and I wish that I could've saved her to begin with

[droptheious]

[Oh wow, does that comment hit home a lot. Will might notice the little "..." bounce across the screen as Varian writes, deletes and re-writes several replies. ]

Forgiving yourself is a harder task than most people realise. If you've done something awful, how can you ever be sure you really deserve it?

[He'll just add to that worry a little. He realises Will probably does deserve the truth from him at this point. Not yet, but soon.]

I don't think it's selfish to have wanted to chance to save a friend- no matter what she did to you.

[arrowtotheheal]

I can't say it like I'm some kind of monolith or all-knowing super wise being. My personal belief is that it's not a matter of deserving it. Forgiveness is forgiveness. It's not something that's deserved for if you're a good person or a bad person. It doesn't care about that. What it cares about is how genuine it is and how earnest the attempt at making amends are without expecting forgiveness to be given

[Varian is definitely setting off the Nico Alarm Bells in his head. Will's suspected that his friend's past is a dark one, but this conversation has pretty much cemented it.

Still, that comment about not being selfish is definitely a reminder he's needed to hear. It helps loosen a knot in his chest.]

That's something I have trouble reminding myself sometimes. Thanks Varian

[droptheious]

[Will's right on the money on this one. Varian's past is a whole goddamn mess, and it's made a pretty sizeable mark on how he seems himself. None of it is good. He knows what Will is saying is logical, he knows if this were anyone else, he'd agree with it completely. It's not the first time such feelings have been put in front of him.

And yet he can't quite make that step to properly accept them.]

Sometimes a person can try to make amends as much as they can and they STILL mess up and go right back to square one. I don't know. Sometimes it feels like being genuine about it can only go so far if whatever you do just ends up the same no matter what you do.

[Varian's feeling that especially, right now- after the mess with the peach. Sometimes he worries he's just always going to screw up and what that means about him as a person. What do you do when you try your best and keep stumbling?

Amal has been very vocal about helping him with that, but he still feels like he should be doing more. Doing better. He hates that he still keeps making things worse for people instead of better.]

Anytime, Will. It's sometimes important to remember that.

[Naturally the feelings about himself don't echo how he thinks his FRIENDS should feel though. He's got some terrible double standards. ]

[arrowtotheheal]

[Will's not a therapist and he knows full well that's not what he is. It's not something he can help fully, other than by supporting his friend through it as best he can.]

Hey, I never said it was going to be linear. Sometimes, it looks like a small child scribbled all over the paper. Mistakes are made, sure, but that's why it's important to get back up and learn from it. Nobody learns by being perfect and making the right decisions all the time.

Besides, you just gave me an important reminder to be kinder to myself. It's okay to let us remind you to be kinder to yourself, too. We care a lot about you, no matter what mistakes you've made. At least, I know I care about you regardless.

[droptheious]

[Wow, look at Will just calling him out as if it wasn't already obvious Varian was talking about himself. ]

Yeah. I've had people tell me that already. I guess I'm still struggling to let myself believe it.

[Because he makes some really bad decisions. Consistently. He WANTS to get better but he's not quite sure how yet.]

...Thanks, Will. That's good of you. I know I'm lucky that I have a lot of really great people in my corner.

I'm just not so great at the being kind to myself thing.