[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

DONT LAUGH LIKE THAT IM AFRAID

[givethemhell]

[Yeah! Heelie wheel!! BEAU'S GONNA GET A PAIR, ROYCE IS GONNA GET A PAIR, they're all going to break their ankles.]

Hah, I'd like to see death try to keep me this time!

[The fact that he can say this so jovially though his longest streak of being dead is over a decade...]

:>

[bywolves]

[ ROYCE DOESN'T WANT A PAIR

okay normally like, royce wouldn't try and stop stupid ideas because usually he's like, whatever, do what you want, idiot, but like. hm. ]

I feel as though this is one of those situations where just because you can doesn't mean you should. [ royce says dryly. ] If you don't die you're at least going to break an ankle.

me sweatily and fastly running

[givethemhell]

[TOO BAD HE'LL GET ONE ANYWAY AND IT'LL BE LIGHT-UP!!

That's fair though, honestly. This is definitely peak "you could but........you should not", which means Wei Wuxian is all for it.]

Have a little more faith in me! I have very strong bones, you know.

[Does Mo Xuanyu?? WHO KNOWS apparently they're about to find out!!

--Or they would, but instead, Royce gets a fine new memory! OH BOY. For the moments it takes him to experience it, he's young. His hunger, his loneliness, his loss all filters through a child's perspective - but, amazingly, there is no ill will or even bitterness in him. He doesn't think long about the suffering he goes through, but instead chooses to enjoy the small blessings he stumbles across. The good taste of a half-eaten bun. Chilled melon rind and how it breaks up the heat of summer. The men and their wares who don't chase him away.

His heart is, for the most part, light. His smile is sunny, and he keeps the words of his mother in mind long after he's forgotten her face: Remember the things others do for you, not the things you do for others. Only when people don't hold so much in their hearts would they finally feel free.]

and then you hit me with that memory and i died

[bywolves]

[ it's funny, because it's not an unfamiliar perspective. at all. in fact, for a moment, royce thinks he's experiencing his own memories - only, there's a big difference. there's no negativity, in wei wuxian. there's just the small blessings, little thank yous and bright smiles.

the memories almost feel like a wound, like uncovering the boxes of hurt and suffering that royce keeps so meticulously stacked and hidden in the back of his mind. his expression shifts into something tight and tense, and he takes a step away, pulling his cloak closer. any humor in him is gone, out like a light. there was a happy ending for wei wuxian here, and royce can't stop himself from feeling bitter, the emotion rising up and choking him.

he can still hear the dog barking, and he shivers. ]

... Didn't know you were a street rat, too. [ royce says, after a moment. ]

me looking at my memlist and being like WAIT, DOGS

[givethemhell]

[The sudden change in demeanor coinciding with the feeling that he's lost something yet again alerts him pretty quickly to what's going on here. All the same, he waits at first with a quiet sort of curiosity - one lined with subtle concern.

There are a lot of things people could see from his very questionable memory banks that would cause them to tense and move away, honestly. He's almost a little surprised when it's that of all things that Royce brings up, blinking at the realization.]

—Don't think I've lost any memories from then before. [How strange... His days on the street really do feel like a lifetime ago, hardly registering at all in the face of the mess the rest of his life had become.] But yes, the streets of Yiling were home to me once. You know it too, hm?

[That Street Rat Life™.]

[bywolves]

[ of all the memories that wei wuxian has, this is really the only one that could phase royce. he's practically only cloak at this point, huddled far into the fabric. ]

Yes. I do. Though your Yiling seems much kinder than Ratibor. [ bitter, bitter, bitter. he shouldn't be. the world owed him nothing, and still does not - he shouldn't feel anything about this at all, save for grim acceptance. ]

Though maybe it was because it was you. [ royce says, quietly. ] People shared food and a home with you because you seemed to have forgotten to be miserable.

[givethemhell]

[Sometimes the memshare roulette really comes at ya!! Wei Wuxian gives Royce...'s cloak a look, quiet for a second or two before offering a small smile.]

To be honest, I don't have very clear memories of the time I spent on the streets. [That one stood out because it's what solidified his FEAR OF DOGS and also because it was his first introduction to Jiang Fengmian.]

Hah - my memory isn't great in general, actually! But the things most worth remembering are the kindnesses others do for you, I think. [Even if those kindnesses are a half-finished bun, a watermelon rind with a few extra bites left on it. Then, with a note of empathy:] If you had fewer kind things to look back on, then I'm sorry for it.

cw: violence against animals

[bywolves]

I don't need pity. [ he says, immediately, before anything else, arms folded. he likes wei wuxian, and it's the only reason he hasn't immediately turned and left. but even fondness can't stop his reaction to this. ]

It is what it is. Was what it was. I never expected anything.

[ or any kindness at all, and here's a memory to prove that.

wei wuxian is small, hungry, and scared. his fingers hurt with the cold, and from the haphazardly-bandaged cuts. he's been practicing with his knife but he's not very good at it yet.

the wolves won't let him into the base until he comes back with food of some kind, those are the rules. so he's out on the streets, wandering the alleyways, looking for any sort of trash that might have something in it. he holds his knife tightly. he can hear sounds coming from down the street, and he's ready, he thinks. he just wants to sleep somewhere warm tonight, that's all.

when he gets close enough, he sees the stray pack of dogs digging through the trash. there's leftover meat, this close to spoiling, but wei wuxian doesn't care. it's food, and it's a luxury, and he won't let these dogs have it. he moves forward, knife ready, and one of the dogs looks up at him and growls. a flare of fear freezes him as the other dogs look up, but not for long. the food is his. but the second he reaches for it, the dog snarls and snaps forward.

he shrieks as the teeth close around his arm, and without thinking he swings his knife forward and sinks it right into the dog's neck. the dog yelps, and there's just - a blurry scuffle, pain, anger --

and then silence. his vision is still blurry, but this time from tears. they slide down his cheeks and freeze to his face. sniffling, he grabs one of the corpses, and starts dragging it across the street. this will have to do.

the memory ends, and royce sighs, heavily, rubbing at his face, aware something is missing and really just - not wanting to deal with this. ]

[givethemhell]

[It's not an unexpected reaction, though it's one that draws a dry huff of a laugh from him. Very much what he'd expect of Royce, from all the iterations of Royce he's come to know over the months. But as he's opening his mouth to say something--

The world grows too big, too vast and too full of unkindnesses. The desperation of wanting a warm place to sleep, of settling for scraps no one else would deem edible, isn't unfamiliar at all, though the weighty knife in his hand is. The rule dictating he return with food or not at all is. The anger is, as he lashes out against the attacking force.

There's blood, there are tears, and the air is so, so bitingly cold. The animal's corpse is heavier than the knife, leaving phantom sensations against his palms.

--Instead of words, he just ends up screaming and throwing his arms up to protect his head and neck out of reflex. Royce's fear, still fresh and tangible, overlaps in perfect terrible harmony with his own. To this day, he's still afraid of dogs - a genuine, deep-seated phobia. Even after the last fingers of that borrowed memory begin to loosen their hold, his breath is sharp, and he looks tense and ready to fuckin Bolt. GIVE HIM A SECOND...]

[bywolves]

[ it's funny that the memories of dogs are what scare the fuck out of both of them, rather than the scenes of horrific violence both of them have been the cause of.

wei wuxian's reaction scares the fuck out of royce, who is already skittish. he startles back a step or two, hand going to - nothing. there's no weapon on his belt and he curses under his breath before composing himself. he doesn't know what wei wuxian saw, but he assumes it was... well, no, he remembers most of his most violent memories, so maybe not those? a beat. ]

... Wuxian. [ the name is still awkward on his tongue, but he tries. carefully, he pushes his hood back off his head, watching wei wuxian with some measure of concern. he is kind of maybe expecting wei wuxian to run away. ] What was it.

[givethemhell]

[SOMETIMES BLOODSHED IS NOTHING but dogs are just the fuckin worst.

That said, Wei Wuxian doesn't run, at least. He's rigid and still and very deer-like for a few seconds, but eventually, he manages to get his startled breathing back under control. A second or two later, he takes a deep breath in, tries to force his shoulders back down.

Then, he looks over to Royce.]

—Don't think I need to say I've accidentally borrowed something of yours, hm? [He smiles, apologetic, but it's still riddled with tension.] ...Trouble with dogs - you fought them for food.

[Haha, ah, youth on the streets.]