[mingle] the space (april).

[fracturamods]

interim mingle

( WELCOME BACK, TRAVELERS. )

There's nothing but the clatter of train tracks, and the odd feeling of almost floating.

When you wake, it's hard to tell exactly what it is that you're missing - only that you are. There are pieces that aren't quite right, even if you're not sure where those pieces would normally be. Pieces of what, exactly....? Well, if you had to put a word to it, it would be - yourself, probably. Or did you get something back recently? In addition, characters will find that they've been allowed to bring back souvenirs from this most recent trip - trinkets, nothing violent, but items that can fit in your character's pockets, whether that be sentimental or otherwise.

The place you've found yourself in is strange, certainly. It's probably worth exploring a bit. For those who have been here a while, they might notice some expansions. Though it just as easily seems that the only form of welcome or explanation that you have, comes from nothing more than a slab of marble.

It might've changed since the last time you saw it. Today it reads:

(*´ω｀)o That wasn't so bad, was it?
Hey, you know how that old song goes?
Do you believe in magic? (☆▽☆) Do ya?

Hope you found what you were looking for!

You might have changed since the last time you saw yourself too - perhaps with a new emblem on your clothes, or a portrait on your skin. In addition to that, it seems like Home Base is on the fritz again…?

It seems that suddenly and at random, characters will be able to suddenly see visions of memories that aren't their own flash before their eyes. Pieces of your lives or where you were before this will suddenly slam into other's heads, as clearly as if they experienced the event and the feelings themselves. You might have an inkling of where your memory went and what it was - but you'll need to talk it out with that person in order to recollect it in all its strength back to yourself. Don't you want to keep those precious parts of yourself? It's best if you don't fall more to pieces while you're here. (Memories that have been lost in fragments cannot be sent to others - that's more fun for the future!)

There's no need to fret that much though. You've already gone through the ordeal once, and you might be able to see results from it. Or maybe you'll get a glimpse of where you're going next. Even so, it's best that you don't get too comfortable, because there is still the unshakeable feeling:

There's still much more ahead of you.

Comments

[dianxias]

[ that's quite possibly the closest to a yes he's going to get. he trusts ookurikara well enough, and he's long given up on hiding his own secrets. ]

I have as well, is all. [ xie lian gives him a small smile. ] It becomes easy to recognize, I think, over time.

[unfriendliest]

[ his eyes narrow. ]

...You aren't human?

[dianxias]

[ he shakes his head. ]

I ascended to the Heavenly Realm when I was seventeen as a martial god.

[ a beat, and then a huff of a laugh. ] It's been a bit rocky since, but, I've recently returned to my post.

[ SURPRISE, HE WAS GOD! ]

[unfriendliest]

I don't know anything about gods.

[dianxias]

[ ah! such a candid answer. it surprises a little laugh out of xie lian. ]

There's not much that needs to be known, I suppose. There are two types, martial and literary, and they ascend based on their deeds in the human realm. I am the former, so it was based on ...well, my swordsmanship, I suppose. [ his cultivation, technically, but it was really because he was a badass with his blade. ]

To answer your question, at one point, I was human, and I've spent far more time in their realm than I have in the Heavens, but for all intents and purposes, no, I'm not human anymore. It's been a few centuries since I was.

[ a beat, and then: ] Even if I were to turn human tomorrow, I'd still be immortal, though that's a bit different.

[unfriendliest]

[ a moment after this speech has ended, ookurikara feels the need to clarify: ]

I don't care about them, either.

[dianxias]

[ ....admittedly, that's a more expected answer.

he doesn't seem too discouraged by it; he just gives a sheepish smile. ] Many don't, and many care little for humans, as well.

[ he doesn't have to say it. it is probably BLATANTLY obvious that xie lian is not that type, if his antics in montevallo are any indication. he gave his side, though, so he'll state, instead of asking; ] You aren't human, either, Ookurikara.

[unfriendliest]

[ kara knows. boy, does he know. there were times when he wished that xie lian cared a little less, because it made his job harder in montevallo, but he never would have changed anything about him, in the end. some of the best leaders are like that. ]

...My masters are.

[ and that's all that matters, isn't it? ]

[dianxias]

[ oof. he doesn't question the phrasing--he's curious--but the sting of empathy remains, and it tugs a humorless smile onto his face, his expression turning more solemn. that is all that matters. ] As were my parents, and the people of my kingdom.

[ so, so human. their suffering is something burned into his memory now that the fragment's been returned to him. he wakes on nights in the space gasping for air and shaking the image of the human face plague from his thoughts.

there's a small, thoughtful pause. ] ....Humanity is so preciously fragile, isn't it.

[ and that's all he needs to say, on that. ]

[unfriendliest]

[ kara wonders if, even if it weren't for montevallo, would xie lian's love for his parents be so obvious to him? there's something more to what he's saying, something that makes kara's chest tight, but he's... afraid to ask. afraid that it will make him care more, when that's the last thing he needs. ]

Not all of them.

[ kara would kill anyone, to call masamune-kou fragile. ]

My masters fought for the ones that were.

[dianxias]

[ that pulls a soft smile onto his face too, fond. xie lian has met many humans who were resilient. a child, who survived a terrifying fall, a bloody trip behind a cart, feisty enough to kick his bodyguard in the shin when he separated him long enough from the then crown prince. his mother, who put on a strong face for as long as possible. the man who gifted him his straw hat. the soldiers he fought alongside, the farmers he ploughed fields alongside. countless, countless humans, their lives so little and so important that xie lian had dedicated himself to helping the common folk, no matter how hard it might be.

he says so resolutely. these are the principles xie lian has tied himself to, and he won't drop them for anything. it was the same in the other worlds--xie lian, through and through, knows if he can give his life and just save one person, it will have been worth it. ] That's why people should fight, to protect the ones that can't. It's our duty as the capable, to defend those who need our help, no matter who they are.

[ he ducks his head, a deferrent, respectful gesture towards these masters he doesn't know, that he means fullheartedly. ] They must be upstanding, honorable people, these masters of yours.

[unfriendliest]

[ kara's eyes slide away, unwilling to meet his gaze as their faces flash through his mind. masamune, and the generations of date leaders that followed him, who all fought for the welfare of oshu and their people. the saniwa, who summoned him and the rest to protect history. tokugawa ieyasu, who fought for peace.

xie lian, who wanted the best for montevallo, and sought peace so that no one else would need to suffer. he'd shown mercy even to wei wuxian, a traitor who'd actively worked against him.

kara would never have been that generous, and it's that thought that has him shaking his head, almost imperceptibly, as his voice goes quiet. ]

They were.

[ but every last one of them is dead. all but the saniwa, and xie lian, and kara isn't sure what to make of the latter anymore. ]

[dianxias]

[ the natural laws of xie lian's world work in a way that involves reincarnation. those souls properly remembered would reincarnate, their souls following the cycle of life and death. their spirits were never crushed (unless they were) and though they'd be in different bodies, maybe under different names, their spirits would live on.

he'd thought hopefully of his family in such a way, of the people of xian le, of yongan. they may have perished in the drought that xie lian couldn't stop, or from the plague that he couldn't stop no matter how hard he tried, but some part of him hoped they'd find peace in another life, away from the resentment that could tie a ghost to his plane. part of that comes from proper memory, from things like visiting graves.

he ducks his head, solemn, respectful, unaware of ookurikara's train of thought. to xie lian, this feels like a moment of camaraderie. of what it feels like to lose. ] They were. [ he agrees. he understands. ] To honor that sort of person through actions feels like a small thing to do in comparison for what they had done.

[ there's an incessant tug, there. like he's missing something. forgetting something. xie lian's not sure why he feels so strongly about that, but there's a hole in his memories that's tied to a similar action--to remembering the big and the small of the people he's met over his eight hundred long years, and trying to do right by them. through kindness. through love, through help, through defending the weak--these concepts are the same.

masters. it's funny. he wonders if guoshi would be proud of him, or horrified. (horrified, he thinks; the guoshi of xian le was the first to warn xie lian he couldn't save everyone, and like every lesson, the truth of it burned harsh and bright. this truth had nearly burned him alive.) they'd had many conversations of choices, and paths, he and his own master, and it leads him here. ] Will you find another, or walk the path they left behind?

[unfriendliest]

[ though he may agree with the sentiment, kara hesitates to say it out loud. xie lian knows nothing of masamune; so why does it feel like he’s seeing right through ookurikara, right to the heart of what made him the sword he is now? all of his fears, all of the love and dedication he still holds for masters long gone… it hurts to think about, but somehow xie lian is always the one forcing him to do it.

he’s pretty sure that he hates it. their relationship is still too much of an enigma for him to be comfortable discussing these things, and he doesn’t want to get any closer. not when he knows that sooner or later, this one will leave, too. and what’s the point in holding onto something that wasn’t even real, anyway? why should xie lian hold any place in this too-human heart of his?

(he knows why, but what good what it do to acknowledge it?)

when he finally speaks again, it’s to ignore the former statement entirely. his left hand falls to his sword to rest on the hilt, a small, subconscious form of comfort. ]

I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have a new master.

[ he’d still be in storage, he thinks, not even on display like some of the others. just tucked away in a dark storeroom, waiting to be brought out and shown off or rust away - whichever comes first. kara may not openly acknowledge the saniwa as his master, he is grateful for that much… even if a human body comes with its own many, many problems. ]