Stella Fortuna Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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stellafortunalogs2021-01-17 11:07 am
stellafortunamods) wrote in stellafortunalogs2021-01-17 11:07 am
Entry tags:
- disgaea 4: valvatorez,
- fe3h: claude von riegan,
- fullmetal alchemist: edward elric,
- genshin impact: albedo,
- genshin impact: kaeya alberich,
- genshin impact: xiao,
- my country: the new age: nam seonho,
- original: anastasia fabre,
- original: lorem laurel,
- riviera: ledah rozwelli,
- tokyo xanadu: jun kohinata,
- touken ranbu: tsurumaru kuninaga,
- trails series: elliot craig,
- under night in birth: byakuya,
- voltron: legendary defender: keith,
- who made me a princess: lucas
JANUARY MINGLE
January Mingle: A Ballad in Goblets
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
You open your eyes to an unfamiliar sight. A cool breeze flits through rustic buildings and sunny streets, carrying the smell of flowers and wine. The very air itself seems charged with mana, the warm pulse of the land palpable beneath your feet. This is a new world, a world where the elements compose all of reality. Before you is a bubbling fountain, and a key is entwined between your fingers. And that weight on your hip? A sparkling bauble that you've never seen before, yet it feels natural, as if it had always been there.
Asking around nets you the name of this world - Teyvat - and the name of this city - Mondstadt, blessed by the Anemo Archon, Barbatos. Your new home is accessible with the key placed in your hands, though this also brings to mind another question. How will you get money? Food isn't free, after all.Luckily for you, there's plenty of jobs available for the enterprising Traveler. Be it taking requests from the Adventurers' Guild, or working part-time at one of Mondstadt's many food establishments, Mora is to be had when hard work is involved. The cuisine of Mondstadt is best paired with its wine, served at bars or enjoyed in private with a few friends.
And about that shining gem. locals will tell you that it is a Vision, a sign of favour from Teyvat's elemental gods. With the Vision on hand, you find yourself capable of commanding one of the seven elements. What will you do with this newfound blessing? Use it for good... or for evil?
Mondstadt's liveliness doesn't diminish when night falls. Bards sing through the wee hours of the night, and the lights of the city help keep most evildoers at bay. All seems peaceful, a pastoral idyll of a life that seems more at home in a storybook. Yet for those Travelers who venture out beyond the city's walls and into the ruins dotting the landscape, they may discover hints of a bloodier past now forgotten.Glancing at any of the calendars in the city will tell you the current date. August 10th was the day you arrived. As soon as the last minute of August 16th slips away, the world around you changes. A blink, and time itself rewinds by seven days. Looking outside, the mown lawns have regrown, the windmill needs fixing again, and the well is once again full. Just what is happening here? It seems only you, Traveler, remembers the week that never was.
State of the World
For the first two weeks of the game, IC time will be looping from August 10th to August 16th. It's currently late summer in Mondstadt, and the trees are just beginning to turn out their autumn colours. The weather is cool and pleasant, with light showers on Tuesday (11th) and Friday (14th). It's also a good time to go out gathering berries and nature's bounty from Mondstadt's forests and valleys.
These two weeks will let us trial out our commissions and regains system and craft improvements for February onwards. There will be no activity requirements for January, so all threads started during this time period can be used for regains!
For all questions regarding January's mingle and events, please head over to our OOC post.
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then again, so was sitting here in this strange house in this whack-a-doo town with a bauble hanging from the ribbon in his hair, so, here we fckn are, ]
How is that possible? [ and not just from a 'logics' perspective, because: ] I've seen you. You haven't been missing.
[ his tone isn't accusatory or argumentative; it's simple perplexity. none of this makes sense... does it????
he's getting a headache, this feels like a conversation that should have been made over soju... after a moment's hesitation, Hwi heaves a sigh and sits in the chair beside Seonho's. awkwardly. ]
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Seonho glances at him, then just as quickly looks away. more importantly, that tidbit is news to him too -- but perhaps there'd been something like that in the book. he can't remember if anyone ever discussed what happened back home, perhaps someone had.]
When was the last time you saw me?
[was it when seonho was being a binch......... i mean we know it was, but maybe hwi will be specific]
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and thus, helpfully, he doesn't elaborate any further on what transpired - because Seonho surely remembers himself, ]
So you're saying you have been somewhere else? Even before this?
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Seonho immediately looks back at Hwi like 'wow, that was SO specific, hwi", with a very familiar look of Exasperation on his face. hm, how is it that everything about this situation still feels awkward and strange, and yet all of his old habits when he's around Hwi still feel so natural,
but we don't got time to unpack all that,]
It was a town called South Sister, located on an island. [a brief, concise explanation, much better than Hwi's answer, HAH. so what if it was like the most anxious and also most calming three months of Seonho's entire life??? it's Fine, hahahaha] As far as I know, there is no connection between that place and this one.
[except for Zhongli, but that is also a very loaded subject that is also difficult to unpack, hm!!! He gestures to his Vision,]
I didn't have this when I was there, for starters.
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that meant Yeon might not even know they were gone, if it was true. ]
If I wasn't here myself, I wouldn't believe you. You know this sounds crazy. [ but he is here, so... the unspoken (albeit reluctant) acceptance comes with the statement. there's no use questioning how this was possible - it was clear answers would take time to find. ]
...You've really spent three months away? [ it was a little surreal to think Seonho might have been trapped somewhere like that without him knowing for so long. ] What was it like?
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I know.
[It definitely sounds crazy, but Hwi choosing to believe him anyway... why does he always do that... seonho is gonna vibe out of his mind, and he's not sure if that's because he's reading too much into things (as ever). He hesitates, because as always, it's hard for Seonho to talk about his experiences.]
...It was -- very different. It was a place that had people from all sorts of countries, and even worlds.
[Because, out of everything about South Sister, the other people there would always stick out on the forefront of Seonho's mind. Not the fact that he almost died multiple times, not the flooding or the mermaids or even the hag that had almost killed him -- it was the people he'd always remember.]
...I met a woman there, not that much older than us. The schools in her country are open to everyone, regardless of gender or class. She was encouraged by her father to receive an education.
[WILD........ He knows that Hwi's father had also encouraged Yeon's education, but Seo Geom had been a true rarity. for a country to have parents who all think similarly... it's also telling that this is the first thing Seonho thinks of, rather than wizards or magic]
There was also another who was from a country where all people are welcome, even foreigners. She'd said that there were people even from Goryeo who'd chosen to live there.
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this news is received with a thoughtful expression and one of a little surprise - mostly because Hwi had done some socializing himself, and this sounded similar. people came from wildly different places than the 'home' he and Seonho were accustomed to. ]
There is a girl here the same age as Yeon who works as a researcher for some kind of "technology." [ "professional," she'd said. "researcher" was not the kind of "professional" his mind immediately went to when she used that word to describe herself ] Maybe we are the strange ones, Seonho.
[ would that be so bad? imagining places where women - girls - had the same opportunities as men... where Yeon could be anything she wanted, regardless of class...
...ah, he's getting a little away from the point. ]
Then you made friends. [ that's what this really boils down to, doesn't it? Seonho was ""socializing""
it hasn't escaped his notice he only mentioned women so far, either-- ]
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also STOP he just mentioned the women because like Hwi he also only has Yeon on the brain. considering how well-read and smart Yeon already is, she'd truly thrive in a world that would let her... but at least she got to read what she liked and go where she wanted when she was living with Hwi -- now what does she have.................
His brow furrows a little at Hwi's absurdity, because it IS absurd, hello!! and it helps distract him from tunneling into his own thoughts,]
More like acquaintances. [he's not Hwi after all, with both the charm and ease that attracts other people to him.] It's not as if they actually knew me.
[or that Seonho had let anyone get that close. never mind that there were a few Seonho thinks he would be miss, but perhaps that's only because he misses the rules he's just gotten used to back in Fogtown.]
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stop thinking of Yeon like that!!!! stop!! she's free now!!! even though Seonho has no idea!!!!!
it's not as if they actually knew me.
Hwi has to resist the urge to smile dryly at the statement. of course, Seonho's old habits died hard - he'd keep everyone at arm's length like he always did and hide behind polite smiles. ]
Maybe if you let them, that would change.
[ but who is Hwi to talk about Seonho and his friendships... especially now? they were as far apart as they'd ever been despite sitting side-by-side in these chairs. if it wasn't for the desire to do whatever it took to return to Yeon, would they even still be talking? ]
But trust has never come easily for you. [ and maybe Hwi has learned a bitter lesson in trust himself. ]
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also wow, hwi... so harsh... but absolutely true. and maybe Seonho missed that too. everyone was too kind to him back in fogtown, usa after all. they'd only see the front he shown them, and thus treated him well for it. but Hwi continues to be the only person in Seonho's life who really knows him. funny how that also hurts too, in a way.
"It's better not to. You of all people should know that."]
I can work with others to accomplish my goal. That's all I need.
[yeah we know that seonho that's the whole problem... He turns his gaze to Hwi as if he knows what he's thinking -- that this singular thread binding them together now isn't trust either, not with their history.]
What about you, Hwi?
[can you stand to be around seonho long enough to work with him too?]
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Seonho was still Seonho. and maybe after all that had happened -- with Nam Jeon where he belongs, with Yeon's safety all but certain, he's a little more obliging than he would've been had he had this talk a few weeks ago.
so, after heaving a sigh that holds the heavy weight of a man contemplating all his earthly burdens and inevitably deciding "fck it bruv", he's rolling a shoulder in put-upon indifference. ]
Putting up with you is practically a life skill of mine. If it will get us home to Yeon, then... do you really have to ask?
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Seonho had been ready. He's always guarded his heart relatively well (hahah except when not), and he thinks he's mostly built up a wall against Hwi (hahahaha except not), so that whatever answer Hwi chose to reply with, he'd be fine with it. Like rejection, or anger at these circumstances that are forcing them together. Those are the normal, expected responses.
Not the sigh, or the casual way he answers, or even the words he says.]
...Fine.
[FINE??? Seonho's answer is short, but he turns his face away, maybe out of sudden Embarrassment, maybe because he doesn't want Hwi to look at his face and see how intensely relieved he suddenly is.
he doesn't want to fight with Hwi, he can admit that much. (but he's unfortunately prepared to do so at this point in their lives).]
Then we can start exploring the areas beyond the city tomorrow. I don't think we'll make much head way trying to leave, but we should at least try.
[upcycled hadn't let anyone leave, so Seonho doubts that it'll happen now.]
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their common goal is one hell of a motivator, right? maybe Seonho can rationalize that's all it is, but they probably both know better. ]
Have you heard any word of why we're here? [ 'leaving' might start and end with the mastermind, but exploration is as good a first step as any - so he doesn't argue the plan of action.
it's strange to be taken like this... there was that vague memory of making an agreement of some kind, but - it wasn't like Hwi could be certain it had even been real. still, someone should be claiming responsibility for their predicament eventually. they'd been brought here for a reason, right? ]
And how did you escape this 'South Sister'? [ maybe there was a connection...? ]
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Seonho hears that unspoken question, and shakes his head -- to both of those things.]
...You know how the people here are. They haven't even noticed that we've just arrived.
[it's a skin-crawling feeling to be treated as if he's always been around, honestly.]
I don't remember. I was under the impression that it was impossible to leave, unless you accomplished certain conditions beforehand. [wow... we're so evasive] But even those were uncertain. I think I was taken, the same as you.
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well. maybe it was too much to ask for, for Seonho to have gotten lucky and picked up some info Hwi hadn't. are they really in the dark...? maybe they don't have any choice but to bide their time. this is so far out of the norm -- he isn't sure where to begin, but...
instead of dwelling on any of that, ]
Why do I feel the more we talk about, the less you say?
[ JUST.
.......just putting that out there. ]
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It's not important. At the end of the day, what I experienced in that place isn't relevant to the situation here.
[trauma??? we're gonna Repress That. Friends?? We're also gonna repress that, anyway]
The only thing is that there are others from that town who woke up in this place, but some of them don't even remember that they were there. [SO IT'S EVEN LESS RELEVANT!!! seonho can't believe that he still has to remember --] It might as well have been a dream. You said it yourself, Hwi, that you didn't even notice that I was gone.
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but he realizes that's not the point Seonho's trying to make, and thus continues (less petulantly) a moment later. ]
If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. [ 'relevant' or not... he had been somewhere vaguely like this place for three months. that was a lot, right...? he has a feeling it wasn't as 'uneventful' as he's making it seem, either...
n-not that he cares or anything, baka...
never mind the unspoken, 'but we can' that goes after his last statement, though, ]
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He can hear that unspoken offer in Hwi's words though, and for a moment he considers pushing him away. yet again. it would be so easy too. instead of dropping back into the habits of that time of his life he treasures most, he could swerve right into "how to be an asshole to my best friend, and really BE that asshole" yet again.
then again, that wouldn't be conducive to their already uneasy alliance they've just agreed to like a second ago. he really does think it isn't relevant -- his stay in fogtown, usa, that is. so he can't imagine why Hwi wants to know more about it. why is seonho so stupid,]
Resolution. The town was affected by our guilt somehow, and we were told to resolve those feelings before we endangered ourselves.
[now it's seonho's turn for an unspoken "you can imagine how well THAT turned out". his lip quirks up a little, unsmiling.]
Most of us assumed that if we did 'face our guilt', then we would be able to return home.
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watch Hwi as he watches Seonho, and mention of "guilt" is definitely triggering a big fat ironic alarm bell. but, at the same time... this is the first time Seonho has hinted at that guilt in a long while. they were never the best about discussing their emotions-- they were better at sparring them out or sitting in silent solidarity or providing distractions, most of the time, but...
...well. it's a little hard to muster up the urge to be petty or angry at that. so, his response when it comes might be a little gentler. ]
Did you?
[ face your guilt, Seonho...? maybe not completely, considering how abruptly he seemed to depart from that place, but... had he come to find any peace? this is an earnest question, complete with the Sincere Face, the one that says Hwi is asking with Genuine Concern, so enjoy that and gl lying to him, ]
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Seonho likes to think that he's pretty resistant to Hwi's sincerity. (studio laugh track). After all, he hadn't relented when Hwi begged him to tell him the truth about Yeon's fate, hadn't flinched when he watched as Yeon tore Hwi's heart to shreds. And he hadn't even looked sorry when he told Hwi that he was beneath him now.
But there's a difference between being immune and not being immune at all, and just pretending you are while feeling guiltier and guiltier about your actions -- and oh boy, is this not the reason why he was panfandom kidnapped and taken to that town?
Seonho grits his teeth, because Hwi's sincerity hurts even more than his hatred or pain. those are the feelings Seonho knows he deserves,]
...I was alone.
['you and yeon weren't there'.]
And facing one's guilt without having to answer for it is just self-satisfaction, not resolution.
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he had never stopped caring about him, and genuinely wishing the best for him. deep in his heart, he believes Seonho wants the same thing, that he still cares just as much as he always had in his own way. even if he didn't agree with his reasons or motivations, the cold and cruel things Seonho had done to him could be forgiven, because they were also done... in part... to protect him or Yeon.
he wants to be able to say he forgives him. he wants to be able to nudge his shoulder and smile and laugh it off. maybe one day when everything is long behind them and Yeon is well and truly safe, they'll get that chance.
but today isn't that day. ]
Then, maybe that is why you are here.
[ he cannot extend a whole-hearted forgiveness and wipe the slate clean. but... ]
Because I am.
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Seonho with a hand pressed against his wound, telling Hwi that he was the one thing in his life he could not bring himself to truly sacrifice. And now here he was with him again, still thinking the same thing.
The wounds might not be visible anymore, but they're still there. Seonho, with a tentative hand to his metaphorical heart, wondering if Hwi really means the words he says, and if he does, then how could he possibly mean them -- after everything Seonho's done? 'There is no point to resolution when the people I owe it to the most aren't here' he remembers saying.
But like he said, Hwi is here.]
...All these years, and yet some things never change.
[if Seonho sounded cold and closed-off before, then now he just sounds exasperated. and painfully fond. ...It still feels too raw to broach this subject that remains between them. Not with how Seonho's left things back home between them, (but would it really be impossible to start over... here?)]
Perhaps I was brought here for your sake. To curb that trusting nature of yours, that thinks so well of everyone.
[including seonho... why hasn't hwi 100% broken up with him now that they're here, Seonho will never know. but you know................ it doesn't feel so bad.................. weird........]
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Would it be so bad, if it was?
[ in a normal world, on a normal day, that wound be a whole-hearted joke. but here they are... sitting in a home so different than any other either of them had called 'home,' so far separated from anything familiar it was almost comical.
so maybe... he asked in jest, but there is an earnest inquiry beneath it.
...would it be so bad? ]
At the end of the day, there are much worse people I could have ended up sitting beside. [ despite everything that had forced them down separate paths, Hwi could still trust Seonho with his life. he believes that. so...
'i'm glad it's you.'
despite it all, he still... can't help but think it to himself. ]
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His throat feels tight, and he swallows despite the sudden constriction,]
Careful. [he replies to Hwi's jest with one of his own, and with something earnest lying underneath there as wel,] Whoever brought us here might hear you, and then we'll both have to deal with someone troublesome.
[He'd never let himself think on it before, but now that Hwi was here... His thoughts naturally stray to the only other person he's missed. ...what will Yeon do, with both of them gone? Would his father still take care of her -- if the person he was using her for was gone?
or perhaps neither yeon or his father had noticed them missing. if Hwi hadn't, then who could say it's not still the same back home?]
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he could definitely think of a few people he'd like to see far, far less than Seonho. it would be Nam Jeon's kind of luck to be freed from incarceration like a slippery eel through some otherworldly means, wouldn't it? what would happen, if he were to come?
he heaves another sigh, ]
Could anyone be as troublesome as you?
[ in the end, he decides not to let that dark train of thought settle in earnest. like everything else... he-- they-- would cross that bridge if it ever came. they had more than enough on their plates without worrying about "what-ifs" of that variety. just one more thing to worry about, huh? ]
If I can put up with you, I can put up with anyone.
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