[And a shrug. It be like that sometimes. If Morph is looking for someone to dig deep into the mystery and have all the answers, Kotone is not the right person to talk to! Hopefully she makes up for that with her smile as she just shrugs and finally returns her attention to the neglected chocobo, giving it a gentle pat on the head before stepping back.]
Great! I'll leave you to your new friend, then. If you wanna give them veggies, I think they like those best.
[Yeah, she thought that would give him pause. Best to be truthful with Dazai, even if he doesn't want to believe it. Maybe especially so in that case, because he'd know if she were lying, she's certain of that.]
You decided you were my mentor. I started learning how to lie from you, you taught me how to make drinks at Bar Lupin -- I still work there sometimes, by the way -- and sometimes you'd just listen to me.
[Another shrug as she glances back to him, resigned little smile still curving her lips.] Sometimes that's all someone needs, is someone to listen.
[ A fair answer. Sunday can agree with that assessment. It is better to hear a person's explanation and then determine whether a resolution can be reached. ]
I see. ...you speak as if she is all you have left of your family.
[ A set of orphans, then? Or a pair who've been separated from their family for eons? Sunday knows he can't assume everyone he comes across in this land will operate on the same halovian timeline as him. It's not that odd of a concept. He knows of the long-lived species who call the Luofu their home. ]
Then I hope you have that opportunity someday and are reunited with her in the future.
[ Maybe things will be different between Aether and Lumine. And despite it all, Sunday thinks that would be a wonderful thing. ]
That is a good strategy. I'm confident that it will not go wrong.
[The knight confirms with a nod down towards where she kneels. Without wasting any time it's as if Argenti is back tracking out of view. After a moment it'll become clear that his intention was to create enough space as to not alert the hound with his re-positioning. Somewhere off screen he has find an alternative way to find the perfect place to flank the poor dog so the escape route is cut off. It probably involves some tuxedo mask-esque leaping from roof to roof tbh
It makes for an imposing back-lit figure. That dog better think twice before coming this way now that it's his duty to make sure it doesn't get through. From across the way Argenti makes eye contact with Guinaifen. At the ready and confident in whatever she will try to do. It couldn't possibly approach without him grabbing hold of it, he's so confident... On his honor as a knight.]
Apologies, I did not mean to rob you of the chance to indulge in the experience. I was not aware that is was such a rarity for you since I was under the impression that the dreamscape in Penacony managed not to limit creativity while also not compromising on the feeling of realism.
[Unbeknownst to Argenti further on in the timeline he does indeed get lost in Ena's dream. With a single sweep of the arms with blanket in hand he lays it out efficiently on the grass but he doesn't insist that Sunday make us of it in any way. The choice should be his.
It's actually somewhat of a nightmare to sit with so much armour on. Without compromising all of his outer shell he takes the time to bend down to undo and remove the greaves so he may sit without getting pinched too much. The plates of armour in question are carefully placed to the side where they shouldn't get in anyone's way.]
Now that you are here outside of it you must have some very interesting thoughts.
[Though not necessarily for sharing so with a short nod he turns his attention towards handing out the bread instead of prying any further.]
[What the hell is Dazai going on about anyway?? Putting his life in danger? He has a tendency to say a lot of shit, but he really seems adamant about this particular thing. A part of Scott sighs, working through his emotions to focus on that, even though that chasm in his chest is still there and threatening to push him. He's not going to get emotional... he can do this. He cares about Dazai, a lot.
He sees that offered hand, throat swallowing because he knows what it's going to do his powers. Long ago, when they first meet, he yearned to feel the release from his optic blasts, but... he's a little different now. He doesn't need that as much anymore. As such, maybe it's just wanting to hold Dazai's hand once more than anything else that he reaches to grasp his hand, a small shudder coming from the mutant as the constant presence from his head disappears.
He can take off his glasses now, but he doesn't. What matters more is that Dazai is real and in front of him again, and he doesn't want to let go.]
Scott Summers. [He frowns up at Dazai, something concerned fitting across his face.] Are you really in danger?
Oh, I see. It must be a really interesting place. I wish I could see it.
[He continues to smile, then he nods.]
I really like learning new things and testing my knowledge. But... uh... the only problem was that I didn't exactly know how to get along with my classmates.
[He really did not expect a stranger to offer him this much care and worry. Ruca follows obediently, but his big teal eyes don't leave the other for a moment. Then, he suddenly looks away, realizing he's being rude.]
N-no, it's not that I don't trust you! I... I was just surprised.
[He sits down under the nearest shade, then takes a deep breath.]
Sorry... and thank you! I'm really not used to people worrying this much about me. I recover fast anyway.
[Aether doesn't confirm or deny it, wondering if this is just a guess on Sunday's part or if it's yet another thing that they have in common. Perhaps he will know the answer one day, but for now it's better to leave this topic aside.]
Thank you.
[Again, his gratitude is genuine.]
I hope you will be reunited with your sister as well.
[He wishes that Sunday and Robin will be spared the hardships that he and Lumine are going through. Aether has seen his share of families broken by fate, separated or unable to ever reunite and it always breaks his heart.]
I should probably be going now... Unless you'd like to walk with me. We could search together.
[ Ange frowns just a little, before pointing out: ]
Your world sounds weird.
[ ... it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black, given how weird Ange's own world is as well, but at least there are no superheroes there. Let alone apparently ridiculous amounts of them. There's so much weirdness she could point out here, but Ange knows her own thoughts about it are threatening to drag her away from the reason she spoke up to the other in the first place. ]
But-- no, that's definitely not the case here. I've seen many one or two of those typical superhero-looking people in this place before today. Don't you think it's weird that there's suddenly a whole bunch of you? And all of you going to this exact same store?
[ Despite using a tablet here, it doesn't seem like Ange necessarily has the best grasp on all of it.. It doesn't help that the connection between all these tablets seems more like magic than technology to her, as unused as she is to the latter. ]
Do people really watch that stuff? Just people doing things?
[ It's a strange sensation. Certainly not the first time she's felt something like this, especially considering just how recently this place had put a very similar sort of strain on her mind, but it's still strange all the same to feel something so heavy lift from her own mind. Like something sneaked into her brain while she wasn't looking.
It makes the girl exhale a deep breath, a hand moving up to her head. Like she's trying to adjust to the sensation. ]
.. yeah, sure.
[ Not like she's going to miss some snacks. Ange waves a dismissive hand, preferring to think about everything else that came before it. ]
I didn't realise youkai looked so human. [ Relatively speaking, anyway. They always sounded scarier in stories. Sure, maybe his power is scary in its implications, but Ange doesn't think anything else about him seems that frightening otherwise. He just seems like some sort of bum trying to steal people's food.. ] Though I guess you're the first I've ever met.
[ The breath that escapes him isn't quite a laugh, but it's close, it means to be. ]
You don't owe me an apology for it. I'm not trying to push, just... [ Well. Plainly, there's something in the way this person describes his experience that resonates enough to speak on. ] ... You're not used to people actually worrying when you look like you could use a little help? Don't get me wrong, I think I know the kind of thing you mean, but that makes it harder to go and ignore when you see it happen to someone else.
(no hesitation or flinching when the boy does, catching him and adjusting for a second so he can raise him over his head. no trembling, no effort, and he removes a hand - it's up to yuri to make sure his weight is well distributed on the hand that keeps him up on his lower back.)
[What's an appropriate short lived race, peepaw/meemaw/gender neutral old person activity...hm...]
Haven't you ever wondered how people weaved or wanted to learn how to knit or cook a thing, or maybe see someone give you a tour of someplace far away?
(just a little pause there, it's totally a test before he waves a hand to explain so.)
It's definitely a good thing, it can save your life.
(your self-worth, your sense of everything-- all a little lie can wrap around and save. but, he's paying attention, the little smile... he did help her, didn't he? it warms his heart, as much as it confuses his head. he knows his mentoring is less than orthodox.)
I'm glad you have such affection for me! Some of my mentees definitely feel a little different! Well. Is that something you want me to keep doing?
(it's a little harder to read with the glasses obscuring some of his face, but there are so many emotions that the boy seems to be running through his mind that it may be related to his touch, it may be completely unrelated. he can't particularly tell, but the fact that he doesn't let go even so tells him that whether it is or not is a bit irrelevant - scott is willing to deal with it.
noted.)
In a way, yes, indeed. You see, to not have information is to be vulnerable, and it so happens, someone on the enemy side is here and more might come, I would rather have as much leverage as possible to protect myself! It's simple war tactics to bluff your way into a power position. Since, as far as I am aware, not many know how 'No Longer Human' really works, I can use that as an excuse to be an exception to the rule. Does it make sense, little grasshopper?
[She just shrugs in the space of that little pause. Sometimes yeah, it's a good thing; it keeps people from asking too many questions, or it keeps them from worrying about her. She doesn't lie to Scott anymore, or Yosuke, or Yu -- there's a small handful of people she won't lie to, because it will make things worse. But her parchment in her pocket still condemns her to Duplicity, and it's likely not something that will change soon.]
You told me about some of your mentees. Akutagawa-kun and Atsushi-kun, wasn't it? I guess maybe you treated me a little differently.
[But she laughs as they round the corner into a small park, lit by the streetlights overhead, but otherwise quiet thanks to others being at the festival.]
Only if you want to! I dunno why you decided to start doing it in the first place, to be honest.
Oh, so you know! Atsushi-kun does not hate me, but Akutagawa-kun? Oooooof! Hate is not the word, but he is very intense!
(totally on him, and he knows it. the obsession akutagawa put on him, it's anger - purely so, a need to prove himself because dazai has shattered him. it's a good thing he's changed - he'll never be perfect, but he's in a constant state of attempting.)
I'll pick up where I left off-- where did I leave off?!
[Isn't he intense because of Dazai specifically?? She doesn't bother answering that part, just shaking her head at him, and picking a bench to sit on. The first time they'd really talked, they'd gone to a café. She has no idea where that café is in town anymore, but after that, they'd gone for a walk up near the mill. The quiet ambience of the park kind of reminds her of that.]
You'll figure it out!
[Once seated, she reaches into her skirt pocket and pulls out a well-worn notebook, offering it for him to read. Inside are her notes in the moment from weird happenings from the past year and a half. People's schedules, people she spent time with, observations she's made. Some useful, some not, like various favorite foods or places. The weird events in town are written down, too, each strange happenstance she experienced.
Dazai himself is referenced quite a few times in there (notably in a shakier hand "die first + Salvation" as a reference to the time she had to all but bring him back to life), as is Chuuya with references to wine and nail polish. Fyodor gets a passing mention, Gogol a bit more of one recently thanks to a certain snake goddess.
In all, it's the notebook of a girl who's keeping track of what's been happening at large in town, but is much more focused on what she can do for the people around her to make them even just a little happier. She'd like to tell herself she's not anxious for Dazai's approval, and really, anxious isn't the right word, but she'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't hoping he'd at least be a little pleased with her work.]
[Suddenly, Guinaifen feels a bit more sympathy for her teachers from her bygone years...if she ever meets them again, she will give them a hug and get them food and tell them that she understands, she understands.
But for now? Now, she gives Ruca a big smile, like he did a good job and the stick flew way out.]
That's not a bad first try! But...if you promise me you can hold these balls for me and not let the dog get any of them, I can show you the trick to throwing a stick really fast and having it go far.
[It's fine, she's got siblings, she knows how to take care of people, kind of.]
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expiationlogs2024-06-10 07:58 am
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