[DROP] The! Best! Thing! To! Drop!

At the Last Step, amid the cracked bones of ambition and half-finished architectural disasters, something new stirs.

Hand-painted signs are posted on every crooked tree, every rock that looks like it might secretly be judging you, and especially on the stairway itself. They read:

NO STABBING

KEEP YOUR TENTACLES TO YOURSELF

BRING A THING. DROP A THING. DON’T BE A THING.

HUGS FREE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS ONE.

A rainbow of floating balloons bob lazily in the sticky jungle air, tied to nothing, as if defying gravity out of spite. One of them hisses if you look at it too long. Another winks.

And at the base of the stairway—arms outstretched like a game show host made of static and bad decisions—stands Vox. He wears his widest sunhat. His most unhinged smile. Several hundred teeth. A pair of heart-shaped sunglasses glint over nothing in particular.

When the attendees begin to arrive, he pivots dramatically toward them and gestures up the crumbling spiral of steps that ends in the middle of open sky. "Welcome, my delicious little disorderlies," he croons, each word like a bubblegum pop mixed with midnight static. "Today we honour the concept of Up, the majesty of Down, and the objects you hold so dear you absolutely must yeet them into oblivion."

He claps his hands together, sending a sharp crack through the trees. One balloon explodes in solidarity. "I want to see it. I want to feel it. Your best. Your brightest. Your weirdest cursed comb. Your saddest sock puppet. Your last shred of dignity—especially if it's a little crusty."

One finger extends and points directly at whoever dares meet his gaze.

"Tell me what you’ve brought, and why it deserves to be dropped from Caido’s most emotionally unstable staircase. And then—"

He lifts both arms to the sky, as if calling for a bolt of dramatic lightning.

"—we drop it!"

A pause. Then, sweeter:

"But no stabbing. I'm still recovering from all the friendship shrapnel at the pool party."

---

Welcome to the drop! You have 48hrs to reply. 

As per Vox's broadcast you were asked to bring the best thing to drop, so please step up and tell him what you've brought and why!

vox

if you try and chase the sun you're never gonna catch it

Vesper saunters up like he’s got all the time in the world and none of the fear that should probably accompany stepping into a void alien's spontaneous public event. His shirt's unbuttoned, silver rings catching slivers of the weak sun as he ambles closer to the half-ruined stairway, one pale brow arching at the hand-painted signs. NO STABBING. KEEP YOUR TENTACLES TO YOURSELF.

"Fair enough," he murmurs, more amused than concerned.

He doesn’t say much at first, just slips a hand into his pocket and draws out a small cluster of maple seeds—the kind that spin like tiny helicopters when you drop them. With a flick of his fingers, he holds one between thumb and forefinger and lets it go. It whirls down, catching a gust of air before tumbling toward the earth in a lazy spiral.

"Always fall different," he says at last, glancing sidelong at Vox. "Depends on the breeze and how you let 'em go." There’s something quiet behind the casualness—measured, observant. Like he’s waiting for something else to start.

His eyes scan the edges of the crowd, pale gaze flicking toward the horizon where forest meets meadow. He doesn’t call her name, but he’s definitely looking for Colt. If Vox was fool enough to show up in her territory, Vesper figures she’ll come running. Whether it’s to watch the show or end it.

---

Vesper brings maple seeds!

And now it's turning out to be the worst of my bad habits

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

there exists a tipping point between gods and monsters

Jack arrives like Vesper's shadow - an unusual state of affairs for both of them, let it be known. But whilst Flora is now on The Family's #1 hit list, her friends and loved(?) ones are still able to roam at large. So here he is, The Ark hovering gods know where nearby, the Last Step winding up into nothing.

A good deal more sober than the demigod who arrives before him (he knows Vox is less likely than the rest to cause active and hostile trouble, but there's no telling who might appear next), Jack reaches into his pocket and takes out his offering. "Sometimes," he announces, "it falls back up again."

Opening his palm to reveal the bouncy ball, he turns it in the light. Spherical, unassuming, but yes, probably quite bouncy.

---

Jack brings a bouncy ball.

// sun comin' up on a dream come around //

"Okay, hear me out," Danta is saying as he hurries into proceedings, as if he has only just realised where he is and what's happening and needs to get the idea out of his head before it bores a hole right through his skull. He's a little out of breath and he needs to get the hell back to the skyport in King's End after this, but he's got time. He'll make time.

"I do this all the time, and it never fails to get a great reaction." Grinning and unbuckling his belt, he unbuttons his pants and lets them drop with a dramatic flourish as if to demonstrate. "Ta daaaa!" Gesturing to them for a moment before hiking them back up again, at least whatever chaos that has been crackling in his blood has died down. For now.

---

Danta brings his pants.

Dantalion

// one hundred years from the empire now //

COLT

Got a head full of noise
About a hundred different things I'm tryna avoid
I got a mind in the gutter
Got trouble on one hand, a beer in the other

Vesper is entirely correct, Colt wants to know what the fuck is going on here. Though the cheerful demeanor of Vox and all his assembled signs seem peaceful enough, she finds that utterly hard to believe, still tense with the expectation of retaliation for the beachside showdown. She might have been content to watch from afar, gathering whatever knowledge she could, just for a smidge of an upper hand. Sometimes a few seconds of warning can matter. With the Family though... kinda feels as useful as shaping firewood out of ash.

She settles warily next to him, on the other side of Jack, close enough that her elbow brushes his as she slides her hands into her back pockets in a false relaxation. Any other prior concerns about the captivating man at her side are buried beneath the much more worrisome presence of the Family along her region. If shit hits the fan, she wants him close. Trust has been built for him with salt and sand—maybe not for the softer parts of her, but definitely for everything else, however wise that turns out to be. "Still waiting for the day you show up without trouble on your heels. Starting to think I'll be waiting a while." Granted, most of the trouble has been hers, but he'd still been there for it, never seeming to find a normal day between them.

Her gaze flicks to each offering given to the Caido radio host. Vesper's is delightful to track. Jack, who she gives a curious once over, earns a subtle smile with his charming prize. As for Dantalion, she just arches a 'brow puffs out a soft laugh. Alright, she'll play along until shit gets weird(er). "A hat," she says dryly, as in how fast she'd drop out of here if things got strange. "As good a gesture as any that a party's started." She plucks the one off the top of her head and with her arm outstretched, lets it tumble to the ground.

---

Colt drops a hat

Got the wind in my hair
I got nowhere to go so I'm already there
Can't say I would and I can't say I wouldn't
If I don't come back, don't come lookin'

// "One more drink" I think I'm losing my head now //

He's been meaning to make it to Sunjata's neck of the woods for a while now, see if the Flood needs any assistance to repay him for some favors. The small crowd has his stride slowing though, squinting down at some of the signs. HUGS FREE TO ANYONE WHO WANTS ONE. "No thanks," Iskra mutters, though Goose seems to have a few different opinions on the matter as the willful dog trots right through the group and up towards Vox. The husky wrinkles his nose as he scents the air, uncertain but, determined to find the best stick-thrower amid the group. He's landed on Vox, and proudly deposits his gnawed on branch with a slather of drool.

"Goose," Iskra hisses in that soft-loud way, and though the dog flicks an ear back in clear acknowledgement, he does not move, eyes trained on the stick. A ragged sigh barrels from Iskra as he begrudgingly joins the group, figuring he'll have to play along until he can snatch Goose up, or distract him with something else.

"The hammer," Iskra says with a faint smile, lifting up a hammer from the belt where is axe is tucked. "Because it's final." Maybe not the hammer, but surely it'd do, as he lets it fall from his grip to the ground, heavy and purposeful. He does his best to ignore Vesper, not particularly inclined to fight (and lose) again today, not when his dog is tiptoeing a dangerous line. Iskra saw Vox on the beach, and he's ready to put distance between them.

---

Iskra drops the hammer!

Iskra

// Tonight we'll make bad memories //

Aithne

I see how this is gonna go

Aithne arrives with a Cheshire grin, waving her fingers at Vox with a wink. She might not be a Friend of the Family, but she can appreciate a little chaos. Today, she's dressed in a black crop top and jean shorts, her hair in tight braids that swing against her back as she walks. She joins the growing crowd, enjoying the tension that crackles in the air around her.

When it's her turn, she steps out from the crowd and produces a handkerchief - white, with gold embroidery that may or may not be her family crest. She's thought about lighting it on fire a few times, but she supposes that dropping it into oblivion will do. "A handkerchief," she says, tilting her head to one side. "Because I don’t wipe my nose on legacy anymore."

---

Aithne brings a handkerchief with her family crest embroidered on it.

Touch me and you'll never be alone

Alys

Alys would really rather be anywhere but here. Vox was not particularly high on her list of entities she wished to associate with, and yet she couldn't bring herself to stay away. He had taken Tal from her; she would get her revenge. And that started with proving to herself that she wasn't afraid.

Even if she was.

So she made her way to the Last Step, joining the growing crowd, glaring at Vox from where she stood in and amongst the rest of Caido's citizens. Sascha grumbled at her feet, hackles raised as she watched the eldritch horror.

And when it was Alys's turn, she held up a single tarot card. "The Lovers," she called. "Because you took mine from me, and I will get him back."

---

Alys brings The Lovers tarot card.

funny how it all works out in the end
you dance with the devil and you lose your head

Soren

The eyes are on fire

Soren walked beside Aithne, clad in dark pants and a white linen shirt, covered by his we’ll-worn, brown leather jacket despite the warmth of the season. The decision to come here had not been his, not really. After the chaos on the beach, he’d hesitated, uncertain. But Aithne had wanted to come, citing how their new goddess would encourage their free will—and that had been enough. So he followed, not by skyship, but on his own wings for most of the journey and composed himself, prepared for what was to come.

Like Aithne, Soren carried the weight of a name he had no desire to keep. Legacy was a chain they’d both learned to slip. He toyed with the ring of keys, tossing it into the air and catching it again, the metal flashing as it spun. A grin, sharp and fanged, flickered across his face—aimed at Vox more than anyone else, though he let his eyes linger for just a second on Colt and he winked at her.

“The keys to the castle,” he said, head tilted with a raptor's lean, the predator in him too close to the surface these days. “Didn’t want them in the first place.”

And just like that, he let the weight of inheritance fall from his fingers.

---

Soren brings his keys from his childhood home/grandparents house in Stormbreak.

You are the unforcasted storm

Callum

I've started my own armageddon

The Last Step is not a place that Callum frequents, but he comes anyway, drawn by the spectacle promised by the voice of Vox in his head.

He arrives with his usual attire: dark clothes, a crossbow on his back (just in case), and daggers sheathed upon his belt. He joins the crowd and stands, arms crossed, watching. Some of the participants seem to be treating this as some big joke; others are taking it a bit more seriously. For his part, Cal isn't sure which direction to lean.

When it's his turn, he steps up, pulling out an old leather wallet that he emptied out last night. "A wallet," he drawls. "Because why not?" It's something basic, that he doesn't mind parting with, and it's just boring enough that it might catch the eldritch creature's interest.

---

Callum brings an old leather wallet.

No one else to blame for this World War Three

Who was it that led you on
And makes you want to hurt me so?

Liam hadn't visited the Last Step before, and he arrived to find it crowded with people. That was to be expected, of course; Vox had put out the call, and for all the fear that people seemed to have when it came to the Family (unfounded, in his opinion, but that was neither here nor there), they seemed to have a fascination with everything the Family did. In any case, Liam was there, too, perhaps to help if things got out of hand like they had with the pool party. And if he was going to be there, then he might as well participate.

He stepped up for his turn, calm and collected. Then he held up an old leather bookmark. Faded initials were stamped into the leather. "A bookmark," he said, casually, like this wasn't one of the last things he owned from his late wife. "Because I don't need it anymore." And it was true. He had everything he needed in the Family.

---

Liam brings an old bookmark that belonged to his late wife.

Who do you want to forget?
Who forgot you long ago?

Liam

Noe

It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At teatime, everybody agrees

What am I doing here?

Noe should have stayed in Haulani, where she was safe. Where things were quiet, and simple, and she didn't have to face her demons. Not like this - standing in front of Vox, nausea rolling in her stomach because she could still remember what it was like to be friends with him, what it was like to give in to the lie that was the Family. Because that was all their friendship had been - right?

But if she stayed in Haulani forever, that would make her a coward. And Noe Carpenter was many things, but that, she couldn't stand.

So here she was, with Koa, trying to ignore the way she trembled, as though waiting for Vox to swoop in and claim her as his own once more. And when it was her turn, she steeled herself, because what she'd brought... "A gear," she said, her voice quivering, as she held the little bit of silver metal up. "From that time you helped me with work. Because we made something, but it didn't last."

---

Noe brings a gear from something she worked on with Vox!

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Sohalia

Don't try to wake me up
Even if the sun really does come out tomorrow

When Noe had decided to come to this ridiculous gathering, Sohalia hadn't been able to let her come alone. Rather than try to talk her out of it - because the tenuous peace they'd managed to broker between them was precious - Soh simply followed along, a quiet shadow at her side.

And since she was here anyway, she might as well use the opportunity to make a statement. So she'd dug around in her closet for something she hadn't worn in quite some time. When it was her turn, she tugged it from her bag and held it up to the light. "A crown," she said, her voice cool and clear despite her nerves. After all, Vox could very well decide that this little game was no longer fun. she could come out of this dead or infected.

But at least she'd go down swinging.

"Because it's just metal. And I won't need it to take back what's mine."

---

Soh brings a crown!

Don't believe anything you say anymore
In the morn, in the morning

Elizabeth

Her eyes scanned the array of signs, curious and intrigue painting her thoughts as she took in the oddity of Vox's call. She'd come mainly to observe but figured it wouldn't be smart to arrive empty handed - there weren't any books on whatever culture they conformed to, and she'd hate to offend the tentacled person.

Elizabeth took in the gathering of people and their various reactions and presented items. Some were personal while others were... not (pants? really?). Still, she wondered how hers might be accepted as she offered forth the book on Caido history. "I brought a book." Smiling politely, she explained, "There's a phrase about 'dropping knowledge' on people. I thought you might appreciate it." There was also the more symbolic representation of falling governments and the crashing of the world around them, but who knew what direction the world was heading. 

---

Eliza-beth brings a history book!

The good life is one inspired by love
and guided by knowledge.