fracturarpg | [mingle] the space (april).

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[mingle] the space (april).

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[BYE PRETTY AND FORMAL LANGUAGE...

It's not like this is unfamiliar either, though. He's known reprehensible people - people who make his skin crawl, who make his blood boil with fury. Had known, rather. None are still alive.]

Doesn't matter the world or the type, hm? Anyone who would raise a hand like that the innocent and weak have no right to life.

[There are shades of whiplike anger threading through his words that she didn't get to see at Algos, but certainly did in Montevallo. After a beat:]

If you've remembered the first, I can tell you that one next.

[ Something hard and bright flashes in her eyes to match the blade sheathed at her side. Anyone who would wreck the lives of innocents deserves to be beheaded at the very minimum.

She folds her hands and rests them on her lap. Her smile is thin and flinty before it drops completely. She could never keep up any kind of expression other than fury at the thought of that demon.]

Did I stand a chance?

[ She knows more than anyone her weaknesses as a Pillar. ]

[The fact that he doesn't say anything right away is probably as much of an answer as any word could be. Her abilities were astounding; quite frankly, the feeling of oh, come on that Shinobu experienced in that moment is one he shares even without their surprise empathic connection.]

You attacked with enough ferocity and determination that it caught him off guard. You moved with so much force even with a collapsed lung that he questioned how realistic it is to see something like that from a normal human... Even he seemed surprised by how far you pushed him.

[And then he had to be fuckin CREEPY AND WEIRD ABOUT IT. His lip curls briefly, an expression of disgust much milder than the actual feeling thinking about that evokes.]

...But he regenerated too quickly. You couldn't deliver enough poison, even when you managed to strike his neck.

[ It's more or less what she expected. The most surefire way to kill a demon is to cut their head off or have them burn to death in the sun's light. All the poisons she could concoct would be less potent against an Upper Moon. They're too powerful, too adaptive, too repulsive— The rate at which they evolve sickens Shinobu to her core.

Why do beings who revel in causing so much pain and suffering have the ability to become so strong so quickly? It makes anger seep deep into her bones. ]

I anticipated that I wouldn't be able to win alone.

[ She faces Wei Wuxian with full honesty. ]

I planned to die.

[ From her posture to her unwavering voice, her acceptance and serenity with that choice is clear. ]

[Hm. ...Well, he's certainly the last person to judge anyone for planning or choosing to die, even if it strikes a sick and difficult chord in his chest. He hates this for her - because she, from what he knows of her, has done nothing to deserve the sort of things that fate seems to keep shoving her way.

But isn't that always the way things work? In any world, it seems. Over and over. He breathes in, quiet.]

You intended for Kanao to finish the job?

[He remembers, toward the end of that memory, "himself" sending some sort of signal to her. His lips thin, pressed into a line before he shakes his head.]

If you planned it, then it must have been a meticulous one.

[ Shinobu watches his expression, and she holds out a hand to him. She knows he chose to sit farther away for a reason, but she's not going to blame him for something he couldn't control. He didn't choose to pluck some of her worst memories from her mind. ]

She's the only one who knew what I'd planned for myself, but I made it so any of my colleagues could've finished him. Anyone who made it that far in that house would've had the ability.

[ She trusted the other Pillars, and she Tanjiro and his friends and their potential to become stronger. It's why she put so much effort in nurturing them after treating their injuries. ]

I made myself poisonous.

[ It's a little odd, talking about this after the fact, like she's recounting some story that didn't affect her life. ]

[He looks at the hand extended toward him, looks up toward Shinobu's face. It's only after a second or two of silence that he reaches out in return, hesitance hooking his motions. He takes her hand; his hold is light and his hand is a little cool to the touch, as always.

Talk of her colleagues has him nodding in understanding. It makes sense, after all, to rely on more than one person in an undertaking that big. It's what follows that gives him pause. He's quiet again for a beat, and the look that he gives her is scrutinizing, but completely lacking in judgment. It's easy to put two and two together, between her admittance that she'd planned on dying and what that demon had said when he had pulled her back into his arms.]

You intended to be devoured from the start. The amount of poison you can deliver in one blow if it's equivalent to the weight of a person, and internally on top of that, would certainly be much more deadly than the amount you could deliver externally with a sword - even a fast-moving one, even through the neck.

[It's an ingenious plan. He wishes he could appreciate the brilliance of it more.]

But there was still the chance he could adapt and withstand it, so someone needed to be there to take his head after you died.

[ She keeps her hold on his hand just as loose. She offered her hand for his sake. Even if he judged, it wouldn't change what happened and it wouldn't make her regret her decision.

She smiles, as if to reassure him, before it shifts to something a little more fond. Every time he proves that he's intelligent instead of only of a menace, she feels more justified in her observations. She knows it's terrible to speak of her death so frankly and that it would still hurt everyone she cares about, everyone who cares about her, but the life expectancy of a demon slayer has always been short. ]

Yes. I knew he favored consuming girls, especially strong and healthy ones.

[ And that's what she was. ]

Even if the poison wouldn't kill him, it'd weaken him long enough. I'm satisfied.

[Something about this all just seems terribly unfair. His own nephew had apparently once wondered why people like Wei Wuxian, like Wen Ning, get second chances when people like Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli don't. Why is it that Shinobu's sister had to die in such a horrible way? Why is it that Shinobu herself has to be satisfied with the way she's died, after living a life in which a "normal person's happiness" was unattainable from the start? Why is her success story being able to help bring down a demon on her way out? It's laughable.

He doesn't laugh, but he does give her hand a gentle squeeze and offer a smile. If she's satisfied with it, what else can he do?]

There are plenty of unsatisfying deaths in the world. I'm glad that you could at least have that.

[Perhaps because she'd known him so well in Monvetallo, and Monvetallo's version of Wei Wuxian is still Wei Wuxian, she'll be able to tell that a rolling anger runs below his easy expression and reasonable words.]

That's hundreds of people you've saved with that plan of yours, then. No small feat! Those you side with are lucky to have you in any world you're in.

[ She can tell, and it makes her smile, something genuine. She didn't expect his anger, but in some way, it touches her. ]

If that's not how you feel, you don't need to pretend for my sake. If you'd like to complain, I'll listen.

[ Whether she'll agree is up in the air, but she understands it isn't fair. She knows it isn't, but what else could she have done? She wanted her vengeance, and she wanted to save as many people as she could. She knows he realizes that from his words, but there are also those memories of his that she experienced. ]

You've experienced more loss than you should have, too.

It is how I feel.

[It's just not all of how he feels, but, y'know. It would feel a little silly complaining to someone who'd walked with such conviction and strength into their own death about the unfairness of life.]

There's a lot I could complain about, but it won't change what's happened already. There isn't any magic that lets you turn back time. If you're satisfied with what you've chosen, then you're satisfied with it. I only hope he found what he deserved.

[SUFFERING AND MISERY haha. He doesn't say that, at least, but the sharp edge to his smile probably says it for him. He is kind at heart, but when he feels some wrong has been done, he's bloodthirsty about the punishment.

Then, with a wryness to his smile:] Looks like I'll have to trouble you to get that back.

That worthless bastard should be rotting in hell.

[ She says that so brightly with such a dark smile, haha!

She won't tell him about the last questionable conversation she had with Douma. Was it even real? It's better to forget the majority of that. She gets angry just thinking about how disgusting that was.

Her anger fades into something more solemn, but it's a feeling that's never truly gone for her. ]

I would call your parents' murderers demons.

As well it should be!

[YEEHAW the "smiles are a red flag, actually" club!! He'd love to take a crack at the demon himself, honestly, but-- well. Shinobu's world is her world, and her life is her life, and what's past is long past. He'll just have to hope that there is some small measure of justice in her world, for how little there seems to be in any.

That statement has his smile softening a little in turn, his head canting gently to the side.]

They very well could have been, since they died in a nighthunt. [And as much as he loved the man who had taken him in, he'd always kept a mental separation between himself and them, even in the best of days. A beat.] But I only remember that from stories I was told, so I assume you mean Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu.

... Yes. You were trying to keep Jiang Cheng safe, too.

[ At least she's putting two and two together about his less than straightforward family situation. To have that much family die, it makes Shinobu that much sadder, especially hearing him call them with those titles when she felt the intensity of his emotions. ]

He was almost inconsolable.

[Haha, OH JIANG CHENG...

He can remember the sacking and burning of Lotus Pier beforehand, and the fact that Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan had died at some point. Being told of Jiang Cheng's inconsolable state brings blurred memories back to the surface - looking through the burnt wood, having to hold his hand over Jiang Cheng's mouth to keep him from giving away their location.]

They were his parents, after all. [And he was Jiang Cheng's older brother, once, so what else could he have done?] It was the least I could do, making sure he didn't run off and get himself killed, too.

[ What he did was right. What he's saying isn't wrong, but something is still not ideal in his response.

She squeezes his hand. ]

You both wish you could've done more.

[He's grateful for it - for the grounding nature of physical contact. He returns the squeeze, gentle despite the topic at hand.]

Of course. At that time, not even the most powerful sects combined stood a chance against them. [The Wens - Wen Ruohan, in specific.] But what someone feels and knows are at odds pretty often, I think.

[Especially when you're young and in mourning, full of grief and fury.]

... Yes. I know.

[ Shinobu was lucky enough that Himejima came to save both her sister and herself. Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng weren't quite as lucky, but she remembers again what she and Kanae did to become demon slayers, so they could do more. So they could do what they couldn't before, young and full of grief (and fury). ]

Later, you could have stood a chance.

[ Her words are heavy with the weight of his next memory. ]

[It's a loaded statement, without a doubt. There's a little huff, something of a laugh. Remnants of the anger he'd felt through Shinobu's memory itch just below his skin, and he thinks of their similarities and their stark, stark differences.]

Later, I did.

[He was lauded as the turning point of the Sunshot Campaign, after all - back before he'd turned against the cultivation world to protect the remains of the Wen sect, who never dipped their hands into the mess of war.]

The blood they shed that night was repaid in full.

[Though he knows that's not the memory she received, since he can still recall it clearly. Those final moments of Wen Zhuliu, Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao, humiliated and crushed.]

[ She squeezes his hand again, a gesture more instinctual than purposeful this time. A beloved older sister's death is something that resonates with her past all reason. She can't excuse everything in that memory, but she can understand it. Even if she couldn't feel the emotions that accompanied the memory, she'd understand it on a visceral level. ]

Your sister had a beautiful soul.

[ There's heartache in the curve of her lips. ]

[He's quiet for several long, long moments, keeping his hand in hers, grip just a little tighter than it had been before. Jiang Yanli had passed over a decade ago by now, and as things are, he can't recall how - but it's a constant ache, a gnawing sense of dread and anxiety, the bitterness of an unfair reality. Normally, he can keep these lingering feelings clasped and held down. Maybe it's the echoes of Shinobu's memory and the emotions therein that make it harder for him to do that, here and now.

Eventually, on a sigh:]

No one in that world was as good as my shijie.

Yes. [ Her voice is softer than silk. ] Anyone whose voice could bring you back from that unnatural state couldn't be lovelier.

[ When even Lan Wangji couldn't get to Wei Wuxian in that state, Shinobu knows just how important Jiang Yanli was and is and just how absolutely eviscerating the loss of her was.

Nothing could be as devastating. ]

She didn't want you to go to a place where she couldn't reach you. You felt frightening.

[Ah. The framework of the memory slips back into place; the sound of Jiang Yanli calling his name, the way resentful energy hooked into him and drove him forward. The look on his shijie's face, her hand to his cheek, saying don't, asking for something so small when he would tear the world in two for her. It had been no one's fault but his own, that things ended up in such a way.]

She died that night.

[As if reaffirming the pieces as they slot into place. She died that night from a swift blow to the heart, without even having the comfort of her husband or brothers to hold her hands.

Really, the world - any world, maybe every world - can be such a bitter, unfair place. His expression is placid, glass-like, despite the laugh that follows.]

—To be honest, I don't remember much of what happened after. Can't tell what you've seen and what's just lost to my own memory.

I didn't see much past that.

[ She's not sure if it's a good thing or not if he doesn't remember. Emotionally, perhaps, it may be better if he doesn't, but the way he felt at that time, what ended up happening after wouldn't have been good for anyone, Wei Wuxian included.

Shinobu's conflicted, and it shows on her face. ]

You were ready to be the worst. Like it was what was expected of you.

[ There's a question that she's not afraid to voice, only considering that it's not the best moment to ask it. ]

I hate that the world is so unforgiving.

[ To their sisters most of all. ]

[He doesn't remember much after the fact, but it doesn't mean he's unaware of what happened. Three months did pass between that massacre and his own death, after all...

At least he's better able to pinpoint where Shinobu might be, in those last blurry moments of his first life. It fills him with a grim sort of feeling; his hand tenses, like he's ready to pull away.]

Mm, well. Seems to be that way anywhere you go, doesn't it? [There's a tiny quirk of a smile, though it seems more reflexive than genuine.] You'd think learning that lesson once would be enough.

[It's part of why he was so upset upon returning from Montevallo. He'd already learned once what happens when you try to take everything onto your own shoulders and solve the problems of the world single-handedly. He'd already lost everything because of foolish arrogance.]

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