#anyways now callisto is sobbing in the red. holding ontp the jacket she got from illia like it's the only thing connecting her in this worl

[e1dritchqueer]

Callisto and Io infodump

Okay okay okay okay, I feel like I need to talk about Io and Callisto from last Beam Saber session or else I'm gonna fucking combust jesus fucking christ AAA

Callisto: My player character. She's an Ascencian pilot who has trapped under the facade of a dead and legendary pilot. The previous pilot, Argyre died and Callisto, a city rat and a conscript, someone who, according to Ascencian fascist rhetoric, should by no means be able to pilot a mech somehow inexplicably bonded with it. She's been forced to become the pilot known as Wraith (Argyre's callsign) and to pilot its fearsome mech, The Wraith of Deimos (We'll refer to it as Deimos). Only recently has Callisto escaped the hold of the Ascencians and now, with Deimos, find herself as a part of a roving mercenary band. Now, while she was imprisoned under the Ascencians, she was forced to play the role of Argyre, under Ascencian rhetoric, Argyre was not dead. And internally, Callisto was only a placeholder till they could find a "proper" Pilot to officially assume the role of the Wraith. No one knew about Callisto, Argyre's death, or the fact Callisto was the Wraith now. And those that did got killed (Illia's old crew). Even free from the Ascencians, Callisto tries to keep a low profile, not knowing how to tell everyone that she didn't somehow steal Deimos, she was (and is) its pilot.

Callisto's wants in this game were simple. Callisto more than anything wants to run. She wants to escape the war and leave, an impossible goal that she has reached for her entire life.

Callisto and Deimos' relationship has been an interesting one. They do not know why they are bonded only that they are. They are the two-become-one known as Wraith. Each is afraid of the other but that fear has transformed into a fearful intimacy. Callisto saw the Deimos as just another part of The Wraith's constricting identity but has since realized that Deimos is just as restrained as her.

Their bond, like all bonds with what's known as "Awakened Frames" (Culturally called Leviathans where Callisto comes from) (awakened frames are essentially like the Gundam/EVAs of this setting. They are terrifying.) allows them to do something impossible. In their case, it is capable of opening a "door" into a mysterious pocket dimension known as The Red. It is something old, something Callisto both sees danger and safety in, something she is trying to understand. (also this is why red is like... a massive motif for callisto). Argyre was also capable of the very same power. While Callisto uses The Red to run, Argyre used The Red as a weapon.

Cool now you're caught up to speed on my beloved wet dog of a girl and her it/its trans girl of a mech.

Now, last session, which you can get a vibe of from my liveblog of it, the party went to a ball for the "season 1 finale" of the Beam Saber campaign. Callisto was asked to dance by a girl named Io (JOVIAN MOON MOTIF). It was lovely. They both got to dance unrestrained from the expectations and roles of war forced upon them, simply enjoying each other as each other and getting to cherish that. Stepping out of the ballroom and onto a balcony, they get closer, physically and emotionally. talking bit about their life. They both feel like dogs in an unending war, tired of losing people in the war, and wanting to escape it all. They feel a tenderness and closeness with each other. It's lovely. They're glad, that even in the midst of this terrible war, they have met each other, and through that feel a bit of solace. It feels like Io is going to move in to kiss Callisto, but before that, Io gives her an offer. "Come escape with me Callisto. We can leave the ring. Leave the war. We can be at peace.

I just need to finish this one job.

I just need to kill the Wraith

I checked the frame registry. It's here. I don't know where the pilot, is, I haven't seen him, but if I can just destroy that terrible machine I'll be at peace. We can escape together.

Callisto is in shock, she's stumbling over words, a jumble of "W-what do you mean?"s and "H-huh?"s.

"I can't be at peace while the Wraith is still living... It killed my mentor. Took one of the few people I cared about. I just need to destroy it... Then... Then I can escape with you... We could leave this war for good"

Callisto wants to take that offer. She so desperately wants to leave this war. Abandon it all and everyone. But she can't. Not at that cost. A younger Callisto would have taken that chance in a heartbeat, a Callisto utterly terrified of Deimos. But Callisto, though still terrified of her Leviathan, is too connected to Deimos for her to abandon it anymore. She didn't realize this till this moment, but she cares too much about Deimos to allow it to be harmed.

She steps back as Io tries to lean in closer. "I-im sorry I-i think I really have to go..."

Callisto beings to stumble her way from the balcony, reaching her hand out to the ballroom door "I'm sorry... I-Im just not the girl you're looking for". The doorway opens. But it's not the ballroom door that opens.

The last thing Callisto sees is Io's dawning face of horror as she watches Callisto fall into The Red.

The Wraith's red.

The thing is, Callisto was wrong, she was the right girl... Just for all the wrong reasons....