[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

[moralmyopia]

[Unfortunately, he was never that cute after his parents' deaths either.]

To teach me what he knew about being a ninja. [The promises before had been innocent. Big brother promises.] He broke them almost every time. [And he didn't hold it against Itachi even if it made him sad. His brother was everything, as noticed by just how much Sasuke loved him.

His brows furrow, but not angrily. He looks away from her, finding it harder to see the smile reach her eyes when it's a tight one.]

...And to tell me the truth about what happened to our clan.

[wisterin]

[ Shinobu's expression softens. To have promises broken by an older sibling you adored.... The only time was when Kanae died, but even then, she couldn't hold the circumstances against her. ]

I'm sorry. [ Her apology is genuine, her voice gentle. ] I won't pry any more.

[ She can tell it's something sensitive, and she knows they don't like each other nearly enough for her to comfortably ask about it more. ]

I loved my older sister more than anyone else.

[moralmyopia]

It's fine. [The words aren't sharp, but fairly resolute.] I want... it back.

[The memory. The few of Itachi he has, the few he's able to hold about the brother he loved. So he understands these words, even if it makes his lips pull as tight as his brows. Slowly, he offers his hand out to her, to help her up.]

...I loved Itachi that way, too.

[Wow, they're both speaking in past tense. Terrible.]

[wisterin]

[ Her eyes widen. She stares for a second before she takes his hand and rises to her feet.

Her lips don't quite curve into a smile, but there's sympathy—empathy.]

You thought the world of him.

[ She felt it. ]

I only smile as much as I do because of my sister, to honor what I can of what she wanted of me.

[ She knows Kanae would've wanted every smile of hers to be from the heart, but the past can't be changed. She can't pretend her family isn't dead, and she's sure he can't, either.

There's no stronger reason for such a personality shift. ]

[moralmyopia]

Mm.

[There was no one like Itachi. Sure, he had parents, too. But his mother was a housewife, and his father was lumping all of the expectations on Itachi. And they were both neck-deep in a coup. You know, typical... family... stuff.]

Your sister would have wanted them to be real. [Once she's on her feet, he lets go.] The smiles.

But it's hard to find much to smile about the older you get.

[Sasuke, you're seventeen.]

[wisterin]

[ Yes, a family that begins with Madara and ends with coup is very typical.

Shinobu's family as a whole was perfect in her mind. They were good people who did good things who only wanted to do good for people. Her father, her mother, her sister, all three of them.

Her smile is a trained reflex. ]

It's better than when I never smiled at all. My smiles are more real than they aren't.

[ She wouldn't disrespect Kanae's memory to that extent. ]

But it's hard to find happiness when there are people out there who'd destroy it without thinking once.

[moralmyopia]

[The expression on his face says he agrees. He is known quite a lot of those sorts of people. He has also been that sort of person himself. Destroying--trying to--happiness when it was beneficial.]

I know someone who smiles regardless of whether or not those kinds of people exist. Even if they come to destroy his happiness, and they have... he continues to smile.

[wisterin]

Are his smiles genuine?

[ Kanae always seemed to find a reason to smile and make it seem real. Even when she was so sad, when they were all so sad, she would come to smile again.

It's why Shinobu tries so hard to smile, too, even if she could never really be like her sister. ]

You seem more accepting of him.

[moralmyopia]

Yeah.

[He doesn't want to think about stupid ass Naruto's smiles. But both of his brows sort of twitch together in exasperation.] He's a loser. [As if this refutes her claim. "Clearly, I do not accept him because I called him a loser."]

And an annoyance.

[wisterin]

[ Does he think she can't see through that? ]

That sounds more like a denial than an assertion.

[ She smiles. ]

[moralmyopia]

[Don't look through his tsundere.]

It's the truth. He's always been a loser, ever since we were kids.

[Damn. She's back to smiling again...]

[wisterin]

[ His tsundere is there for everyone to see. ]

Those are some harsh words about someone whose smile you cherish.

[ Her smile is here to call you out, Sasuke. ]

[moralmyopia]

I never said I cherished it.

[He will not accept being read like an open book.]

He's a pain. We're not like you and your sister. Itachi rarely smiled because the world was cruel to him.

[wisterin]

You don't have to say it in so many words for someone to read between the lines.

[ Some things are better left unsaid, and some things don't have to be said to be known. ]

I don't expect your family to be like mine. That you don't smile often anymore, that your brother didn't— that's all right. I understand.

[ She rarely smiled for years herself because the world is cruel, not simply to her but as a whole. ]

I'm not telling you to smile, Uchiha-kun.

[moralmyopia]

[He sort of just makes a face. Let them not smile in peace, Shinobu.]

I'm aware. [Since he's frowning now.] We'll see them again. When it's time.

[Though he definitely saw Itachi sooner than that in the other--world? dimension? Not exactly something he wanted considering they had parted a final time back home.]

[wisterin]

[ She is? She's leaving his stupid Giyuu face in peace. She's just not leaving most of his other stupid sides alone. ]

I hope you don't aim to see him soon.

[ A concession that she doesn't hate him enough to want to see him dead. They really are bonding over their dead siblings. ]

[moralmyopia]

No. I have things I have to do.

[Which were haha bad before Plasma, but it's fine. Probably? Listen, sometimes you just can't execute your good intentions well at all. Ever.]

I saw him in the place I was before coming here. It was... [A lot.] ...enough.

[wisterin]

[ It takes her a moment to piece that together but not too long. With the world hops and talking to people from different time periods and worlds, she strings together a conclusion.

Her smile is sad but genuine. ]

I'm glad you were able to have a little more time with him. I'm sorry you had to part with him again.

[moralmyopia]

[His brows lower slightly. He's not sure if he should agree.]

If I did not part with him then, I would have parted with him later. He was dying. It's... better it ended when it had.

[wisterin]

Was there no way he could be saved?

[ She doesn't know his family history, only that he loved his brother. ]

[moralmyopia]

[His lips thin, not angrily, but almost solemnly.]

I don't know. He was already prepared to die when he found out. By my hands.

He had killed our clan, and our parents. Our village leaders had given him a choice: to die with us, or kill the clan to stop a coup against the village. I had been the only one left. He told me lies so I would hate him.

And when I was strong enough, I would kill him.

[wisterin]

[ This is a heavier burden than she thought, to be placed on the shoulders of both brothers. The world truly was cruel to them both. It probably still is.

Her expression softens even as her anger grows. His personality is still terrible, but no child should have to go through that kind of suffering. It warps.

His family's idea of love... She can't agree with Sasuke's brother's definition, at least. ]

... He wanted you to live but at the price of your happiness.

[ That would be the least of it. ]

Do you forgive him?

[moralmyopia]

He wanted me to live, but he wanted someone from the clan to punish him for what he had done. To absolve us.

[His mismatched eyes lower. Did he forgive Itachi? For all of the suffering, all of the lies? Knowing the truth, he had felt numb.]

He left me with the truth. [There's a long pause, like he's deciding what he wants to say.] He gave me the truth, and then he left the world. Left me with it. I spent... so much time hating. I spent so much time being angry.

...I forgive him, but I traded my anger. Instead of hating him, I hated our village. I planned to destroy it.

[wisterin]

[ Sasuke's only reward for telling his truth is Shinobu isn't smiling anymore. There are shades of his story she can relate to, but she can tell he only saw the worst in everything as he grew up.

Is what Itachi wanted absolution? It was a string of murder that only ended because his brother manipulated him into being the last, and even then, Sasuke was ready to murder more. It doesn't absolve either of them, but she understands spending so much time full of anger and hatred.

The last time she wasn't was when she didn't know any better, when her entire family was still alive. ]

You were foolish, but you didn't succeed.

[ His village doomed his family and him with it. ]

[moralmyopia]

I had to defeat Naruto first. He was standing in my way. [He glances anywhere but Shinobu.] As my last remaining friend.

[He still doesn't look back, even when he continues.]

I was waiting for him, but before he got there, I was taken to the dimension with the gods. Because they had offered me a wish. If I got it, I could ask for the strength to destroy Naruto and the village. So the village could start over.