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seasonsrpg2025-03-21 09:15 am
seasonsmods) wrote in seasonsrpg2025-03-21 09:15 am
Event #13: Who Are You, What Could You Be?
Who Are You, What Could You Be?
LOGS | NETWORK | OOC | MEMES | NAVIGATION
March 21st
Nightwake is buzzing with excitement. The Dragon Lord, Opallios, has sent a proxy to Nightwake. This young dragon is an ivory colored, medium sized dragon, perfect for mingling with regular people. After a meeting with the guild leaders, the dragon addresses everyone with a booming voice, almost like it's coming from loudspeakers throughout the city.
"Otherworlders", he says. "My name is Einnainth and I'm here on the behalf of the Dragon Lord. You have been invited to the Abandoned Castle by Lord Opallios. We have worked hard to repurpose the place into sanctuary for all dragons and power holders. There, you may participate in a ritual to unlock completely new powers with our help. If you wish to hear details, I will be at the Solarpeak Beach."
The same message is also send to each device, just in case someone missed the announcement.
Those who come to meet Einnainth can see him enjoying affectionate pets from the local children. He will be explain that it was finally time to entrust ancient power holder magic to the otherworlders, as well as the four guild leaders. Dragons have always been the guardians of the powers so it was their duty to pass it on when the time was right.
He also requests to get some supplies for the castle, such as wood and stone, if they're able to spare them. They still have a lot of work to be done in the castle. While they can fix most things with magic, just conjuring materials from thin air is very taxing.
(March 22nd onwards)
New teleport crystals have been installed near the Abandoned Castle. All of the four guilds have counterparts for quick travel. Of course otherworlders are allowed to travel to the castle however they want. The crystals lead to a gazebo; those arriving from the summer and spring guilds end up near the summer side entrance, while autumn and winter arrive at the autumn side. It doesn't matter which side someone ends up in, as both entrances lead into the same area.
Those who have visited the Abandoned Castle before can notice a huge change. The walls that separated the two sides before have been knocked down. The only thing separating them is the way they're decorated and their general architecture: summer side is made more of stone and has no furniture or decorations left, while the autumn side has warm, wooden tones and plenty of dusty furniture and decorations in autumn colors.
Dragons have brought in plenty of moss and other soft natural materials for people to sit on. Their own sleeping quarters are in the rooms or outside on the roof. Peeking into them will reveal some of them have started hoarding different things in the middle of their rooms. Leaving them something they collect will result in the dragon becoming their friend.
There's plenty of time to socialize with the dragons before the main event begins. Plenty of berries, vegetables and fruit have been gathered for anyone to eat. Some dragons even have meat and fish.
Once everyone is gathered and settled down, Opallios makes an appearance. He's larger than most of the dragons present, white with gold accents. Many might remember him from the Frozen Falls.
"Welcome, everyone. We have gathered you here to help you unlock ancient abilities that we have been safekeeping. These powers are more difficult to master and some of them are even dangerous. However, we have full fate in you, hence why we are ready to pass the powers back into your hands."
He explains that the ritual will happen in special mindscapes, shaped by their minds. It will done in pairs and there's no rush. They can work on the unlocking as long as they need. No one has to do this right now either, as the dragons will remain here and help them anytime they want.
After that, he conjures very old-looking parchments from the air for everyone. They have a list of abilities they're about to unlock, written by the people of old.
The ritual to unlock the powers starts off simple. There are several small fires in the main room set up. Otherworlders are tasked with finding a partner and then sitting with them by one of them. However, the dragons warn that the more familiar the partner they choose is, the more dangerous the ritual would be. It's better to pick someone who they aren't so deeply bonded with for this.
Once the pair has settled down, one of the dragons approaches them. Next step is to hold hands or otherwise form a physical contact and close their eyes. The dragon will then breathe out a veil of mist that surrounds them. It feels comfortable, making it easier to relax. Slowly, the physical world starts feeling more distant.
Suddenly the pair will feel like they're floating. If they open their eyes they will be greeted with clear blue skies and a vast meadow they're about to gently land on. However, the moment they land the scenery changes; the scenery shifts according to what fits their states of mind. It splits neatly into half, one side for each person.
The state of mind can be visualized in different ways. Someone who has no problems or burdens may just have the same meadow with the blue skies while those with heavy burdens may have an approaching storm on the horizon. The meadow could also be withered and gray instead of the lush bright green, or even on fire.
Even if the two would have similar minds, there are still obvious changes. However if the pair is very close to one another the scenery will seem like it fits together seamlessly, no matter how different their minds are. They even have the risk of melding completely together, which can end up with both of them dead. They have to be constantly focusing on their sense of self to keep the two mindscapes separate. Whenever they stop doing so they will feel it as an ache all over their body.
Several different colored energy lines travel across the mindscapes. All of them have a different purpose. The bright golden ones are their touch energy, which are currently actively burning. Other colors vary between what season they represent; blue for winter, pink for spring, green for summer and orange for autumn. They have several different shades, representing all kinds of different abilities. Those with special powers from home will also notice an energy line for them.
The pair must follow the right colored lines through a variety of different landscapes; forests, mountains, rivers, and so on. Their lines follow the same path; straight in the middle of the two mindscapes. There's even a chance of enemy counters (representing enemies from home or from Ellipsa), depending on just how dark their state of mind is. All of their powers, seasonal or otherwise, work here so they are able to fight the enemies off. Dying means failing the ritual, injuries will reflects as unpleasant pain for a while after.
At the end of the lines they will find a wall with a gate. Only by touching the gate at the same time will it open and behind it they will find several illusions of themselves. Approaching them will have them tell them something that is either a complete lie or the absolute truth about the person.
Their next task is to find the ones that tell the truth. Accepting the truths, no matter how unpleasant, will the the person absorb energy; this energy will feel like they're unlocking something new. Denying the truth will break the mindscape around them, causing cracks. Too many cracks will completely break it down, waking them up from the mindscape and ending the ritual in a failure.
Accepting a lie as the truth will also result in absorbing energy, but this energy will result in a minor injury in the real body and feels unpleasant.
The amount of accepted truths needed to unlock the abilities varies between each person, but there has to be at least five different ones. These can be just simple things like "he has brown hair" or "she sucks at karaoke", but also truths they necessarily don't want anyone to find out.
Optionally, characters can also capture a floating ball of energy inside the gate that will unlock the ability to do emotion magic. However, this can either be completely ignored or just unnoticed.
After the pair has gathered all the possible energy, they are ready to wake up again. To do this, they must join their hands together and focus on the physical feeling of their own bodies. Their mind starts feeling more distant and eventually, they can feel like they're sitting once again.
The dragons congratulate them on their success and offer to tell them all about their season's abilities in more detail. Some even enthusiastically tell them all about emotion magic that may become something like a wildcard for them in battles.
People can redo the ritual with others, should they wish to help them unlock these abilities as well. However, they do not gain anything by doing it (unless they missed the emotional magic part) - other than possibly a deeper connection with the other person.
With all this excitement, don't forget that all around the city, the End-of-Winter Festival is in full swing! Ever since long ago, this festival has been a cultural mainstay to say goodbye to winter and bring in spring (on the calendar, at least, since the seasons all stay in their places).
In every district, there are bonfires set up here and there. They're all in places far from the centre and away from anything particularly flammable, for the sake of anyone uncomfortable with fire -- but they're all festival hubs for people to gather. Just like last year, all the traditional activities are back: dressing in costumes and masks to symbolize winter and spring; singing and dancing around the fire; dramatic improvised plays where people are asked to act out a battle between winter and spring; and, of course, the pancake breakfasts! Thanks to the recent quests, most of them even have real maple syrup instead of the cheap golden corn syrup in the packet. Or berry syrup, if you're not into maple.
The jellycats (cats that have jelly-like shells protecting them. The shells wiggle everytime they purr and they can retreat back into them whenever they're uncomfortable) also make another appearance, staring at anyone eating pancakes and hoping they'll share a bite. They come in various colors and scents (each jellycat smells different to different people). The scent becomes stronger the more a jellycat likes and trusts a person.
The traditional festivities aren't the only festivities this time around. After a very successful showing at last year's Arts Festival, the fanclubs of assorted otherworlders who have become minor or major celebrities through quests, missions, or even just plain social media presence are back. Not just that, but they've gotten serious and have opened an Otherworlder Fan Merch Store down a side street in Nightwake near one of the festival hubs.
They've certainly gone all out, even compared to when they just had festival merch booths. Otherworlders can find themselves on all kinds of merchandise like buttons, keychains, mugs, art prints, acrylic stands, and even 3D mouse pads and body pillow covers. Further back in the store are more esoteric goods. How many people are buying collector plates with the city's heroes on them? Who would buy a wallet with their face on it? Pasta shapes in a can?! Someone's gotten creative.
Past a curtain (wait, no, that's a shower curtain with life-sized images of characters, also available for sale), there's a section advertising "Unauthorized Biographies." Flipping through the comics and novels, one thing is clear -- this is the doujin section. How much of a market is there for RPF of the otherworlders? It's not even all dirty; at least half of these are coffee shop AUs shipping people with their friends or overly personal gushing about the time the subject of the story saved the author during a quest or a time monsters got into the city.
The Amberfall Library doesn't have a bonfire (for obvious reasons), but it's also running as an event hub of a different sort. Following the Dragon Lord's announcement, they've brought up some archived books for people to peruse about the old days of the now unsealed season magic.
There aren't very many, owing to how long ago it was, but a few still remain. The biggest feature is a book of short stories, where two specific stories are bookmarked.
In "The Tale of Spring and Autumn," two lovers on a mission, a Spring and an Autumn power user, find a massive and powerful monster beyond description that threatens their home. Pushed to the brink, the Spring mage increases her own magic over and over, disregarding her own safety, to wound the monster gravely, but the overuse of that ability turns her into a tree, and the monster knocks the tree down. The Autumn mage breaks down in a fit of grief and uses her wood powers to kill the monster with the wood of the tree.
In "The Tale of Winter and Summer," a Summer power user is guarding a Winter exorcist when they come upon a spirit searching for help. The Winter channels them to fulfill their last wish to save their town from the pirates that killed them, but the spirit turns out to be lying and is actually a ghost pirate themself, and the Winter struggles and ultimately fails to take back his body from the ghost. The Summer, seeing the rest of the ghost crew gaining on them, causes a landslide with a magical explosion.
Thankfully, they're not all that depressing. Any would-be scholars can read gathered information about their new abilities, though these ancient sources might not always be the easiest to parse.
And as a festival activity, the library has also provided paper and writing utensils for attendees to write about what season magic means to them. They can be anything the writer wants and will be posted up in the library for the duration of the event!
Summary of the prompts [ Click to Expand ]
SECTION 1• The proxy for Dragon Lord Opallios arrives to Nightwake
• Dragons are ready to bestow new powers for the power holders
• There is a request for wood, stone and other materials for the dragons
• Quick travel has been unlocked to the Abandoned Castle
• Dragons have redecorated the castle and provided natural cushions to sit down on
• Some dragons have started hoarding and will become friends with people who contribute to their hoard
• Opallios explains the ritual
• He also provides lists of abilities they're about to unlock
SECTION 2
• The rituals begin with holding hands and dragons breathing mist
• They ascend to a mindscape meadow that will take shape based on the pair's state of mind
• Those bonded closely together have to focus on their sense of self
• Several different colored energy lines appear
• The pair has to follow the right ones through different sceneries
• Enemies may appear
• They encounter a gate that has illusions of themselves inside
• They have to find the truths from the lies and accept them to learn a new power
• Waking up means holding both hands
• Characters may help others to unlock these powers as well
Do You Remember When Days Were Like That?
•Nightwake City is celebrating the spring equinox with bonfires, festival games, plays, dancing, and costumes
•Pancake breakfasts pop up around the city, and stray jellycats appear more often trying to get people to share
•Fanclubs open a merch store for unauthorized otherworlder fan merch
•Fan merch can be anything from common types (think artist alley/fan shop offerings) to weirder things that have been offered as merch (anything from pasta shapes to ice cube trays or fancy plates)
•A section in the back of the store sells fanfiction and fancomics written by Ellipsan fans of otherworlders
•The Amberfall Library is participating in the festival with a display related to the ancient powers in the dragon ritual
•Some old short stories are tragic cautionary tales about the risk involved with the stronger powers
•Nonfiction also exists to figure out things about the new powers
•A related activity is for attendees to write what season magic means to them
• Ask event related questions here
• The new abilities can be learned by anyone, even those who have just started learning their regular ones. They're separate from the original powers, despite both being seasonal abilities.
• The ritual can be done anytime after the event as well and it can be handwaved. However, NPCs can't help with the rituals in this one so everyone should have a playable character to plot with.
• Characters are free to help the dragons repair the castle and otherwise just hang out with the dragons.
• Smut is not allowed on the event post, so if your thread is heading that way, please move it to a separate entry (like to your musebox or characters' journal).
• Remember to content and spoiler and content warn as necessary!
• Reminder to players that this month is Activity Check-in month and check-in ends on March 31st, at 23:59 PST.
no subject
[Rinku waves her hand and gets an employee's attention. After asking to leave their stuff and promising to come back and buy it later, the merch is on layaway, and Rinku gestures for Korone to follow her out of the store.]
I know! Do you do well with dark places? We could take my portal gun to the glomon's dimension! They're pretty nice, but they'd leave us alone if we wanted.
no subject
Korone considers the idea as they head out of the store. ]
Hmmmmmnn … [ Tilts her head, tapping her chin. ] I'm interested in checking it out, but it'd have to be another day. There's some things I'd need to test first. [ Like the ninpo and Donnie's trackers. ]
Maybe the beach?
no subject
[She offers a hand to head to the nearest teleport node.]
no subject
Korone starts to reach back.
... Hand ...
She hesitates. Shakes her head a little and finally completes the motion, holding Rinku's hand gently. ]
- wanna travel by shadow portal? Dad's been teaching me.
no subject
Sure, that sounds like a ton of fun! And then we can go to whatever beach you want! There's a ton -- there's this one by my house that always has seashells wash up...
no subject
Seashells, huh? I wanna see that one.
[ A patch of shadow on a nearby wall ripples and expands, pooling out to form an inky dark circle big enough to step into. Nothing is visible through it. ]
This'll bring us out near the Board Shop. Ready?
no subject
Rinku nods and makes an excited little noise, then follows Korone through the portal.]
This is so cool! And you learned this from your dad?
no subject
One step, two steps, and they step out of a similarly shaped portal on the streets on Solar Peak. Korone lets out a breath and smiles to herself. Heck yes, she's making progress! —
… Aaaaand she's blushing. That too. ]
Learning, still learning! I've got a long way to go. [ Her smile widens, even as she ducks her head bashfully. ] Dad's a master of shadow magic. Glamourie too. He's super, super cool, like — [ lightly flaps her free hand, gesturing ] Like wow, you know? When we first met, he realised we needed help and offered to teach us. Me n' Donnie, that is, back in January last year.
no subject
[Rinku looks around and points, then starts out down the street. Her giraffe tail swishes from side to side and she hums.]
Oh, the one down that way doesn't usually have many people! And I think more people are celebrating in Nightwake or Blossomcrown than here anyway.
no subject
I, um, I spend a lot of time studying and training. Something like … anywhere between three to nine hours a day on average? [ It depends on what else is going on. ] Some of that's on my own, and there's a lot of … playing around, sparring with the others, practicing while I'm doing other stuff. But having a real, dedicated teacher has been amazing! 'cuz we can talk about my goals, what I want and need to learn, and how to get there.
[ Planning and consistency! Instead of constantly scrambling around, reacting in the moment or otherwise having to make it up as she went without guidance! Truly living the dream. ]
Maybe we could train together sometime? If you wanted?
[ She follows after Rinku, looking around curiously. ]
Thank you, Rinku-chan.
no subject
[Rinku nods excitedly as they go down the path. It's not far to a smaller, mostly empty beach, where she climbs up onto a large driftwood log.
...And then she hears the Rinku-chan, from someone who'd always used -san for her, who'd been so reserved (she thinks) that she once used it for a then-hatchling Hina, and Rinku can't help but stand on the log and spin.]
Korone-chan... 「Happy Around!」
no subject
[ LOOKS AWAY … and, like the huge dork she is, actually maybe sorta hides her (very red) face a bit under the pretence of adjusting her glasses ]
W-Well, a lot of it comes down to different teaching and learning styles-!
no subject
Are you okay, Korone-chan? Did I say something weird?
no subject
[ Flaps a hand, half to emphasise that it definitely isn't anything Rinku has done, half because aaa. ]
... I'm just ... a little weird sometimes. [ Sidles over to perch on the log. ]
no subject
I'm weird all the time, probably, so it's okay! I mean, I don't understand people, even when I try hard at it.
...Is it like what you wanted to talk about? Training and stuff, and what people thought about it?
no subject
… It is okay to be who you are. Being different … thinking about and experiencing the world in different ways — is okay. [ Is she saying that to Rinku or herself? … Yes. Probably. ]
[ A small puzzle toy — similar to a rubik's cube but way more complex — appears in her hands. ]
Um. Yes and no? ... Maybe kinda, in some ways. [ Because that surely makes sense. ] Sorry I'm being vague; I haven't talked about this much and it's a little [ a lot ] tricky to find the right words and place to start. [ But she's gonna do her absolute rubesty, and after a couple of twists of the puzzle, she dips her metaphorical toes in: ] I ... my younger self ... grew up in a 'normal' world. There wasn't really any magic at all. No monsters, no cool powers, just humans being humans. We were a regular high school kid with two parents working in law enforcement.
So ... being kidnapped to those other places, not knowing how to fight, surrounded by powerful people and magic and monsters and all sorts of things. It was amazing, but it was really scary too. It was terrifying.
no subject
Like me... I guess there is weird stuff where I'm from, but I didn't know that when I got here. And you guys were in way scarier places. ...There was only one of you then?
[She thinks of the heart again.]
I think I saw you. Or her, I guess, 'cause it was in your head. [Rinku scratches one of her ossicones.] I only knew you and Koronai-chan, so I kinda thought of the other yous as other cornet fillings 'cause you're Choco Korone-chan, so I called her Cream Korone-chan... But!
[She shakes her head. No tangents! Gotta focus! Which is really, really difficult!]
What happened next?
no subject
[ IN HER HEAD AND ALSO CORNET FILLINGS ]
[ Korone, who had been about to speak, makes a faintly hilarious strangled sputtering sound that breaks into a wheeze of a giggle. ]
I — that's … okay, first of all, are you — were you okay? [ Because Choco Korone's heart is a death trap and she damn well knows it, holy crap. ]
Second …
The separation — with me and Koronai and Blue — started happening later. Every time we got taken someplace new, we'd lose our memories and have to get them back piece by piece. Between that and the dangerous stuff … [ She trails off, eyes on the puzzle. After a moment she shakes her head and blinks, refocusing. ] … You could say I'm looking after the body until we're safe enough for Blue to come back. [ You could say that. Yup. And Korone does not give any indication that she has Feelings about it one way or another, speaking calmly. ] Anyway —
[ She tilts her head. ]
You said you started out because it was different and exciting, right? [ Glances sidelong at Rinku. There's no judgement whatsoever in her gaze or her voice. ] What made you want to keep learning? To keep trying?
no subject
[She flails a little. Okay. Other question.
Rinku hums. She kicks her heels against the log.]
I know I don't have to. People, a bunch of times, when they remember I didn't do this at home or when I get hurt or scared, they remind me I don't have to and I can try other things to help. But even when it's more scary than exciting, it's still helping. And I like seeing people smile because they're safe or they got what they needed.
And, hm... I don't like killing anything, or hurting people. But it'd be worse if the Nightshade and all those guys won. And I wanna protect everyone.
How about you, Korone-chan?
no subject
Well … [ She breathes a soft sigh and smiles, wry. ] If you're really sure you were okay, I'll take your word for it. And if … um, you have questions about anything, let me know and I'll try to explain. [ She will also try very hard to be Normal about it. ] Hearts can be super weird.
[ For now, though, she falls quiet to listen, all while she works steadily away at the puzzle cube. … Steadily except for a few little pauses here and there. I like seeing people smile, I don't like killing anything or hunting people, I wanna protect everyone. ]
Mm. That sounds familiar. [ Korone stretches her legs out, dragging lines into the sand with her heels. In the back of her mind, she hears the Soldier's voice: Sometimes that can be seen as stupid, but it's something we think of as admirable. ]
… "I fight because I believe in trying to make a difference."
Because I wanna help and protect people; to be there when they need someone; to see them smile. Because the idea of staying behind when I know there's something I can do to help makes me feel sick. … And because I want to live.
It took a long time to decide I wanted to learn. The idea of … hm, consciously choosing to do harm, to hurt and maybe kill? It felt like too much. [ She chuckles quietly, shaking her head. ] But even as we sat on the fence, clinging to pacifism and telling ourselves we couldn't and shouldn't and all sorts of things … we couldn't keep ourselves out of it. We were a real trouble-magnet whether we meant to be or not.
Eventually, we realised we had to make a choice.
[ She pauses there, starting to reach for her hammerspace hip bag. ... Pauses again, bleps her tongue in Concentration, and teleports a fridge-cold variety pack of ramune onto the log between them. Emotional conversations on the beach call for cutesy sodas! ]
no subject
Because you want to live...
[She makes a contemplative noise and screws up her face. Ooh, Ramune. Rinku grabs a bottle of yuzu flavour and pops it open, giggling a little at the dropping marble, before she gets back to the topic.]
I guess that kinda thing happens sometimes, huh. No matter what world you're in, sometimes things just keep happening around the same people? And sometimes it's fun and exciting things, but sometimes it's all the scary stuff too, huh...
Neechan told me it's okay to not be used to it. And a couple other people said I shouldn't make myself get used to it, or try to be okay with it, because... I dunno how to explain it. I think that makes sense too, though. Like... it's important to be who you are, even if you gotta do all this stuff.
["...I think if I actually forgot everything that scared me, maybe that'd be worse. I wouldn't know what to do if it happened again. And everyone would worry even more than they do now."]
And... people didn't like it when you chose? Even though it was important?
no subject
… And — [ A breath of a laugh. ] It's true. Life's like that, with the ups and the downs and the whirlpools and everything in between, but sometimes it really feels like … 'wow, what is this, an anime?' [ Or a space opera. Looking at you, Wash-nii. ]
[ Korone takes a long sip of strawberry ramune. ]
Do you think it might help to try to explain it anyways? [ A genuine question. ] I've found that trying to find the words, even if it's difficult or frustrating, helps me understand my own feelings better.
Like … for example … back in Kyriakos, I was kidnapped by a witch for a couple of weeks. She wasn't scary or dangerous at all; it was kinda like an extended sleepover I hadn't consented to. She even let people visit sometimes. But, because of those visits, I found out that really awful things were happening back where everyone else was …
The queen and princess were overthrown by — honestly, calling Nyssa 'horrible' or an evil witch would be an insult to horrible people and evil witches? Blegh. [ She rolls her eyes, shakes her head. Takes another sip. ] Anyway. My team, the Cat team, who worked for the royal family, were taken over by her too … and she used magic to brainwash them into hurting everyone else. So people, lots of people, got really upset with me for breaking out of babyjail. I got yelled at, called stupid, thoughtless, reckless, told to go back where it was safe. Like it'd be better for me to sit and wait and worry and feel helpless. It was frustrating. I did some yelling too. Had a lot of Conversations. Capital C, keyword, because ... because that's what a lot of this comes down to. Conversations, communication, and balance. With yourself and the people around you.
It is important to be who you are. It is okay to not be okay, even if it sucks! I can't tell you how many times I've been mad at myself for being upset by upsetting things. I'd try to hide it, pretend I was fine ... but that only made me feel worse. Like I was trapped. [ She has to pause for a second there, gathering her thoughts. ] ... But ... actually taking the time to sit with my feelings, acknowledging them, talking with the people I trusted and asking for their help ... that made a difference. It made all the difference.
Dad's always gonna worry about me. Wash-nii, too. It's in the job description. But being open and honest about my feelings, the good and the bad, means they understand how important it is for me to be allowed to try. It means they can offer guidance and support ... and it means they can breathe a little easier, because they trust me to ask for help when I need it.
no subject
[Nod nod! ...But Korone's story makes Rinku shiver, and she pulls her legs up to her chest and hugs them. She listens, nods a little, lets her tell the whole story.]
Everyone told me that too, that they'd probably always worry and my trying to make them not do that was kinda making stuff worse. Which it sort of was. A bunch of stuff happened, and now I'm trying not to worry too much about it, but sometimes it does feel weird. But yeah... talking did help. Like, Neechan started out saying she just wanted me to know how to defend myself in an emergency, but now she tells me she's proud of me when I do a hard quest or don't cry until something's all done.
[She puts the hand not holding a bottle up to her face to trace the scars that run across it in all directions, jagged like a broken plate.]
Sometimes it's been hard, though. Like... you were in Eve-san's heart, right? I was too, with MK-san. And he tried to take on all the painful parts so it wouldn't hurt me. He kept saying it was what he was made for.
["It's okay. I can do this. I'm fine."
"...You, Eve-chan, and everyone else are always working so hard to deal with this stuff. That means I gotta do my best too. I can't sit there while everyone's getting hurt."
She reaches out toward the mirror shard, eyes still on him.
"We were talking about ambition. That's mine. I can't let you guys get hurt in my place every single time. Because what I want most of all... is to make everyone happy!"
But she can't grab the piece. MK races to take it first, the pain flashing on his face.]
Things are better now, but I don't want that to happen again. It feels like the same kinda thing you're talking about.
no subject
[ She watches Rinku hug herself. Listens, quietly and carefully, as she talks. … There's a lot there and more than a little of it pings Korone's Concern Radar, though she can see so much growth and strength too. Rinku's clearly come a long way since she first arrived in Ellipsa. ]
[ … … … She doesn't quite manage to keep herself from pinching her nose at the comment about MK. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right. Unfortunately. ]
First things first, Evangeline-chan is super proud of you and she's right to be. Bravery isn't a lack of fear, and strength isn't about perfection or not asking for help. And you, Rinku-chan … you're brave, and you're strong. You're getting stronger all the time.
… Sometimes people don't value themselves enough. And sometimes people don't realise that they're hurting those they care about by trying to shield them. [ And sometimes! It's both! Sometimes it's both. Korone sighs. ] Have you guys talked about it since then? I had to have a lot of those kinds of conversations with Wash-nii. It's not always easy, but it's worth it.
And, when you said a bunch of stuff happened and you're trying not to worry too much about it … can you tell me more about that?
no subject
M-hm. [They have in universe, anyway.] It was kinda awkward because we got kidnapped by this guy who was putting cursed items in stores 'cause I guess there's people who think if they hurt us and study us enough that way they can give our powers to Ellipsans 'cause most of their power holders died during the Tragedy, which is pretty messed up and also sad? And that guy specifically I think wanted revenge 'cause this one time he oh right you had a question.
[Rinku screws up her face and thinks.]
A XROSS∞BEAT's this hypnotic sound wave -- wait, the other question's the important question, right? There's been things I'm worried about and trying not to, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
[She gently taps one of her fluffy horns, and her tail swishes.]
Like this is getting a lot easier and taking less energy and sometimes I forget I have them, so some of the guild staff told me I'm probably getting stuck this way 'cause that used to happen with people who used the animal shifts a lot? And I used to worry a lot about if I changed too much for home, but now I'm less worried about that 'cause the last time I went home I was back to the way I was. Same age and no scars and everything! And the illusion candle versions of my unitmates still liked me. But also also there's still kinda the what if they freak out? Not just about this, but the scars and how I got older and I'm not in high school anymore and I figured out some stuff about myself. But these days I can mostly just say they wouldn't and keep going.
[Smile! But then she bites her lip and thinks, then takes another sip of her drink.]
And there's how if we don't find a way to connect worlds and let anyone who wants stay or come back to Ellipsa, then Neechan's gonna go to some other world forever. But I'm not smart like that for research and stuff, and there are people who are who work really hard on it, and it's better if she and her parents go there instead of stay in the City which is the most messed-up place I've ever heard of, and there's a whole lot of messed-up places, and that scares me but I already told you about that and the not-wanting-to-get-sent-to-hell thing. But we talked about it, even though I didn't think I had a right to be sad.
And... [Deep breath.] This one time, I wanted to keep people from worrying about me. It was after the heart thing, and after you guys were all working so hard to save MK-san but I couldn't do anything. 'Cause I'm not nearly as strong and people'd just worry, and 'cause I'd just got mind controlled by the Nightshade right before then.
So I made a deal with Davis-san, do you know him? The guy with horns who reads people's souls and does the whole [hums an approximation of the tune] thing when you agree to something. I'd take a high-risk quest with him, and in exchange for me showing him how things worked, he'd step in if I were in trouble, but otherwise I'd do the whole thing myself.
Except it kinda went wrong and he had to step in right away, even though I had a whole bunch of preparation. And I lived and stuff! And whatever the Faemoose did when they trapped you in the shadow thing, it wouldn't work on me! But it was really scary anyway, just seeing all that and getting thrown around and... having to kill stuff. People. 'Cause the fae that sent the moose showed up, too. [shudder]
He told me later it was a lesson, or something. That he always planned to step in, and it was supposed to teach me it's okay to rely on other people even if you're trying to be strong. I must've forgotten that, huh?
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