Who told you so, dilly dilly, Who told you so? ‘Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, That told me so.
ouch is one of the most intimate, romantic ways to be close to someone else. The Town knows this very well -- the Town wants everyone to be as close as possible.
Perhaps that's why this bonding is so...aggressive.
Because you're in for quite the shock on this otherwise peaceful day when you brush against the next person on your path.
Maybe you're going out of your way to touch people. Maybe you've got a terrible urge to just see what's lurking in someone's heart. Maybe you trip over a conveniently placed rock -- whatever the cause, you're getting an up close and personal look into someone else's heart.
Welcome to Awash's eighteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs and posts for this event!
If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you!
[Akira's heart is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a rainy landscape. It's nighttime, and there are thick clouds overhead, the moonlight revealing only enough to show the surrounding area indistinctly. They're on seaside clifftops, with the faint outline of a lighthouse in the distance. There's nothing much by way of immediate shelter from the relentless rain, leaving a sombre, melancholy feeling to the landscape. Near the lighthouse, silhouetted in fog, is a dark figure, sitting alone.
Closer down near the sea, there are buildings making up a small town, but only one building has the lights turned on, streaming into the dark. That, too, seems faint and faraway.
Akira looks around, instantly recognising the scenery.]
This is... [His eyes widen. How did they get here?]
ii. the gathering
[Past the solemn outer layers and deeper into Akira's heart, it isn't so dark or lonely. In fact, it's just the opposite: there's a bright white room, with sunlight streaming through the windows. People are gathered around a table enjoying a meal, and someone else enters to join.
'Hey, Akira!'
'Akira, you're late! Come sit with us!'
The boy who walks in looks... a little different than Akira's usual self. Yet the sheepish grin and the rushed apology he gives as he hurries to join them seems familiar all the same. Some other people are recognisable from their time in Chroma -- Ryo, Miki Kuroda, Pyra, and Dextera, with even Tako the cat curled up in a corner, napping. Others not: Miki Makimura, her parents and little brother, and even Akira'sparents are there too.
All the people he cares about, gathered in one place.
The real Akira, the taller, leaner Akira, with darker skin and marks around his eyes, looks on with a wistful expression as he watches his other self. Now that he's here he wants nothing more than to join them, even if this is just an illusion that exists in his heart.]
Are you seeing this, too? [He glances across to whoever accompanied him here, curious.]
iii. wildcard
[Feel free to PM me/ping me at moonsilver if you'd like a custom scenario! Or comment here with a starter of your own, so Akira can explore your character's heart!]
[ Eight hundred years.... A low breath escapes her; if it's truly been that long, then it must be difficult to come back here for him. She doesn't want him to feel any worse than he appears already.
Pyra quickly looks around, noting the tall walls about the city... ] ....Are you... sure you want to leave so soon? [ She isn't trying to convince him to stay. But-- ] If it's been this long since you've seen this place... [ What she wouldn't give to see what she lost after centuries have passed. ]
[ Unfortunately, Jion seems kind of distracted, having to drag his gaze away from all the different stalls. It's his heartscape, after all, and he recognizes way more of the items being displayed and bartered. Even if it's harmless, he's still a little tense from being thrust into such an unfamiliar setting, and he follows close behind Maribelle as they navigate the marketplace. ]
I mean, it's great that it's peaceful here, but I wonder what exactly is going on ... D'you think we have to go slay a monster or something to get out of here?
[ the only time sierra left the village was to leave it for good, and even that was in a rush. she sighs, staring up at the sky—the moon has gone back to its relative normal. ]
[ berkut has a fairly good idea of what that was—or perhaps it is his mind, addled from a previous venture, that makes him believe so. with that uncertainty looming over him, he says nothing of his suspicion.
instead, he meets dextera's eyes in search of an answer. ]
What was that? Or do you not know this one, either?
[ He's clearly jumpy. Jion's been looking around warily, jacket zipped up to ward off the chill and chin tucked into the high neck of his sweater, but he gives a small start at Cairngorm's question. ]
Um, hear wh -- ... oh. Yeah, I, uh, think I hear that. [ He tries to look for the source of that voice, doing a full 360 where he's standing before uneasily rubbing at his ear. ] Man, I don't really know what this place is, but it's kinda giving me the creeps. You know, this is the sort of place a ghost comes out to kill you in horror movies. A ghost, or some sort of mountain monster. A yeti.
[ Despite his distracted mumbling, Jion is very susceptible to authority figures, and he begins stepping closer to one of the portals without even thinking. ]
[ And she's watching it all with a smile on her face. Is that boy-- is that really Akira? He seems so different, and yet-- no. He's not different at all. Look at his smile, look at how much he seems to care about all of those around him. It's him, it's Akira. ]
...Do you want to join them?
[ It might be a little weird considering that some version of herself is at the table too, but eh. ]
[ the light glows softly in dextera’s hand, something that looks like it might be white-hot but strangely seems as cool as an ocean pearl at the same time. dextera knows it well, but what he isn’t used to is the presence of someone else in this empty place. ]
[ Finally, it clicks. He remembers what Shen Qingqiu had said to him that day when he had turned up at his door with Maiden Kaoru. He admitted to pushing his disciple into the Endless Abyss, in order to make him stronger. This is that disciple. This has got to be the "betrayal" the System was talking about.
He'd reacted angrily to the story, when he'd first heard it, because it reminded him too much of his own experiences. But it's clear to him now that Shen Qingqiu regrets his decision. The words this "Lus Binghe" is speaking... they've got to be Shen Qingqiu's own words, somehow. HIs own guilt, manifest. ]
[ And look, he does. It only causes his frown to deepen, and he grumbles to himself before taking long strides past the gate. ]
There is no other path for us to take. Let us proceed.
[ The castle grounds is no different from the outside. Then the very air around them suddenly bends, replacing the decrepit image with the same austere buildings at their peak—tall and whole, standing majestically over the mended earth—until a blink of their eyes steals the glory away like a whisper in the wind. Fissures rake all over the broken land, though one section of the path that empties into another part of the castle remains relatively whole. ]
[ How cruel it is to be shown the castle as it once was, all for its splendorous image to wash away like water off wax. She glances at him, catching his frown before he walks ahead.
She follows, watching him press onward as they come upon the unmarred path diverging from the rest. ] ...Was this place your home?
[If he weren't so stupefied by this entire situation, he'd do something about that smile. He refuses to be mocked. And yet, what is the truest form of mockery here?]
It is Rigel Castle. [The answer comes softly, almost tentative. The words that follow are stronger as he corrects himself with immediacy:] No, a mockery of it.
[It's almost embarrassing, having Pyra here to see his deepest wishes like this. Yet she probably isn't surprised, either -- he never kept what was in his heart as a guarded secret.]
I do. I wish I could introduce you to everyone...
[Introduce them for real, not here, where in his imaginings, everyone is already like a big happy family. But that's something that won't ever happen, least of all with his parents.
He takes a step forward, then hesitates.]
We... should go. I don't want to keep you trapped here, Pyra.
he didn’t see it, so he doesn’t know, and that bothers him. it bothers him more because this is berkut, and every single one of their encounters has been strange—but because of berkut’s manner, he just wants to smooth it over and prove his worth. ]
I’m sorry.
[ he already knows what the answer will be, but he offers one hand to berkut to take. it will mute him slightly more, but maybe some people would prefer that. ]
[ Just as he'd predicted, not a soul dots the stretch of cleaved land. Berkut and Pyra are alone, though he nearly forgets her presence until she poses him that question. ]
This? Yes, I suppose . . . in its true state. What you see here is a false likeness.
[ She looks on at the table with everyone there; she, too, would have liked to meet all of them as well. Some, she recognizes. Others, she does not. But because they know him, she wants to know them, too.
She wants to, because of him. People who have earned Akira's affection and care are people that will have hers as well. ]
[ But when he says that they should go... ] --Oh. Already?
[ It escapes her all too easily, a slip of disappointment she shouldn't let in because she knows that it's unfair to him; this world is his. It's personal. ] I mean, yes, of course.
[ Once again, his overwhelming instinct is to smother Luo Binghe with words. Once again, he thinks. What would Lan Wangji do? ]
The first part is correct. The second is not.
[ He keeps his face carefully arranged into an impassive expression, remembering the way those light eyes used to gaze at him, so long ago. ]
If your family, your friends, or your sect betrays you, then you must first understand why before committing yourself to action. This disciple will now tell this teacher why this is important.
[He says, glumly. One hand is tracing circles on the fabric of the armrest that Prompto isn't sitting on; the other is cast limply across his lap to make room.]
Here. So I am. There's no helping it, if that's how it is.
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ouch is one of the most intimate, romantic ways to be close to someone else. The Town knows this very well -- the Town wants everyone to be as close as possible.
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