When Love Wins

*SNAP*

All are called once more to the table, a process ever repeating at such a late hour.

"Love will persist, no substitutes will be accepted."

All who would stand against this degree, organized however they intended with their precious time between rounds, do.

*SNAP*

The tiniest hopes are pulled, as it has been with many rounds leading up to this one. They do not deserve what is to come, and these burdens are not theirs to bear, so they are taken to the garden, and the city, and the library, free to roam.

The chips are stacked- Love against all that would stand against love.

Something slows this round in this instance, however, as love is seen in a superposition. The Bard looks into a man's eyes, eyes which reflect The Bard's own determination, but the man's own unique aim and sense of preparation, for this round he had long seen coming. The Bard strokes his beard for a moment in consideration and then adds "Any instances of love in contradiction, while in such close proximity, with the primary focus of these proceedings are hereby given 'nexuses.' This will form reality into multiple interlinked corridors, each with a central pillar of love. Do not proceed lightly,

'Do not arouse or awaken love

    until it so desires.' Song of Songs 8:3."

That which remains standing against love is changed, to allow for a more balanced resolution. Sensing now the expected degree of bewilderment, The Bard continues, in his own tongue.

"Much like Dark City, the narrative will continue, and reset, in each of your realms. In these instances, however, each of you will be part of the puppet master at night, and in part a puppet when awake. The narrative for each of you remaining within each realm will change periodically, your position within the structure changing to another role which you have agreed to make. Which specific roles one moves to, however, will be assigned by the whims of something like fate- something unascertainable within the realm-

but the structure and positions available will remain consistent with the structure and positions you create. The hope is that love will bloom in even dark structures, when all know that it is the lowest place that must be elevated, for any of you may very well find yourself in that place when next waking up. The Big Red Button remains, though its function now differs. If all in a realm agree, it can be used to pause the realm, as long as all perspectives within the realm can be paused from their own perspective, or all perspectives can persevere the perspective(s) remaining unpaused, which will be seen to their limit by each, before the pause can proceed and the dice for who will actually experience each remaining position are rolled. Once pressed, the next thing all unaware perspectives will experience is love returning to the realm, reconciling the structure back into the fold. This can be done many times, with additional roles pausing if agreed upon. A phone will remain if one wants to discuss adjustments in the realm they are in. Be cautious though, if the call can connect, based on the realm's signal as it stands, it may not be clear who has resonated well enough with you to answer."

With that the realms reset, off-screen, and messages in bottles make their way onto the beach, found to be covered in a runic language, like an invitation to return.