04 - week four

[afflictionmods]

WEEK FOUR

Saturday comes to a close, and it’s time for some rest and recovery. Perhaps the TLC you deserve will come this week, or perhaps the nightmare will continue. It’s hard to say with things being so strange around you, from Wei Wuxian’s disappearance to the sudden addition of objects and places and creatures from your homes. Who knows what this week will bring? Nothing ordinary, that’s for sure.

You wake up on Sunday to an increase in those little glimpses you saw yesterday. What were snippets of songs, locations that might’ve seemed familiar, and creatures that were dormant, are now all alive and whole. When you go to the karaoke bar, the songs you once knew are there. Monsters and animals are alive and sentient. New business are abound. Vehicles are operable, and perhaps some of your old belongings are back, too.

However, some of these things aren’t even things that should exist outside of your dreams. They may be far too strange and unusual to be real, or just things you don't remember ever seeing. The only thing you remember about these things in particular is that they were, quite literally, in your dreams this week.

That being said, every few hours, all of these things from your homes and dreams fade out and get replaced by new sounds, places, beasts….only to maybe come back again at another time.

Well. At least there's one constant here: You’ve got a handful of new locations to look at, with the fog having spread once more, and they aren't going anywhere. There aren’t as many new places that are native to Estelline this time around, but that may be for the best, considering everything going on.


SETTING TRACKER

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

NEWSPAPER SUBMISSIONS + EDITION #1

SAGE / FLORENCE / LORELEI

MEM SHARE DETAILS

OOC NOTE

OOC: Details on this week can be found here!

Also, we have a lot of participants for the news activity from last week. Neat! Everyone who participated in some capacity will have a small polaroid camera delivered to their doorstep. There's limited film, though - 10 photos per camera. It doesn't seem like there's any extra film at this time, either.

Finally, there will not be any weekly tasks this week. You guys are going to be busy with memshare and dreamscape stuff; instead, enjoy the Estelline University Newspaper!

FULL NAV

(CODE)

Comments

[partymagician]

You’ve been better.

[ He’ll acknowledge that, at least. ]

I know that Saturday couldn’t be helped.

[ Fai pauses. It looks like he debated whether or not he should add to that, but he decides to. It really is best to be straightforward with Hien, which is largely uncharted territory for Fai. ]

But I’m sure you can understand why I can’t fully trust that you’ll protect me, when you didn’t make an effort for two weeks to protect me from unnecessary pain.

[ His words might be on the harsher side, but he still speaks in his normal, soft tone. This isn’t necessarily a scolding—he’s telling Hien how he feels. ]

[selfconcept]

... Yeah.

[ He knows nothing excuses his actions no matter what--that's just how he accepted living his life. That's why he always facetanked consequences. Consequences brought him here, so-- ]

Alright.

[partymagician]

[ His eyes widen ever so slightly in surprise. ]

…And here I was, expecting you to fight back.

[selfconcept]

What was it... "I reap what I sow" or something like that?

[ He'd normally hate the idea of someone trying to tame him. That's why he said he'd stab Owen when he said something similar. That's why he always lashed out against Renatus. That's why he abhorred Destruction-- ]

It's consequences of my actions.

[ ...

But maybe if it's Fai, he wouldn't mind. He quietly sighs. He knows that isn't the intention here, but Hien is willing to cooperate at least. ]

[partymagician]

…

[ He smiles a little as he looks down at the floor. ]

I’m a little relieved. I was afraid that saying it would cause another argument.

[ And Fai doesn’t know what he would’ve done then. Live with not getting along with his partner, he supposes.

…

The thought hurts more than he wants it to. ]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien feels something inside him and it's not relief. He looks over at Fai. ]

Then what are you feeling?

[partymagician]

[ …Oh. Right. Hien can feel anything negative that he feels.

Fai looks off to the side and away. ]

The thought of not getting along makes me sad.

[selfconcept]

[ They're no longer hugging, so Hien reaches out for Fai's hand and gently hooks his pinky with Fai's. ]

Look at me in the eyes and say it.

[partymagician]

[ Fai stares down at their hooked pinkies for a long moment before he finally looks up at Hien. ]

The thought of not getting along… makes me sad.

[selfconcept]

... Good job.

[ He lightly pats Fai's head with his free left (healed!!) hand and gives him a small forehead kiss. ]

You did well. Thanks for telling me.

[partymagician]

[ He’s glad Hien’s hand is healed and he’d comment on it if Hien didn’t just kiss him on the forehead. ]

I really thought that I was an affectionate person, but you’re much more affectionate than I am.

[ He briefly wonders how many people Hien is kissing on the forehead or if it’s special treatment. ]

[selfconcept]

Am I...

[ He goes over to sit on his own bed and notices a box. ]

Oh, right. It was package day.

[partymagician]

You are.

[ Is… Hien not aware??? Hello??

But Fai doesn’t bring it up again, moving to sit next to Hien on his bed. ]

It was. I got a few things.

[ If Hien looks, he’ll see a big white coat with a swirling blue pattern all over it draped over Fai’s bed. There’s also a large magic staff in the corner of his side of the room. It’s the same staff Hien saw in Fai’s memory. ]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien looks up to finally view the room in full. His extreme tunnel vision only consisted of Fai ever since he stepped inside. ]

Oh. That's the huge staff you carried around when you were a kid...

[partymagician]

Yep. I carried it around until I gave it to a witch for payment.

[ He leans back on his hands. ]

I had a dream last night that you came to my world when I was younger. Trying to give me lessons on smiling, weren’t you?

[ Especially those fake smiles. ]

[selfconcept]

[ So Fai saw that... Hien closes his eyes for a bit before reopening them and reaches into the box and pulls out a very comfy pillow. ]

Yeah. I was hoping that maybe that version of you wouldn't fake smile so much when he grows up.

[partymagician]

Mm, maybe he won’t.

[ He looks at the pillow. ]

The king of Celes raised me. One day, I told him that I couldn’t so much as heal a paper cut, no matter how hard I tried. So, he told me that my smile could be my own healing spell.

[ … ]

Perhaps I got carried away at some point. I think I used it as a healing spell for myself.

[selfconcept]

I think it was more of a defensive spell. It didn't heal anything.

[ Just saying. He hands Fai a comfy pillow. This is his apology gift without outright saying it. Giving Fai one of his pillows... amazing. ]

[partymagician]

[ Well… Hien isn’t wrong about that!

He stares down at the pillow. ]

Ah… I actually got one of these myself. You don’t have to gift it to me, Hien.

[selfconcept]

Now you have two.

[ That's final. He rummages through the box, eating the grapes he encounters, and pulls out a pocketwatch. ]

Fancy. I bet the time is wrong.

[partymagician]

Mm, probably. I bet you can fix it though.

[ He just… sets the pillow to the side. Guess it’s his now! ]

[selfconcept]

I can, but that sounds like something irreversible to do to a possible sentimental object.

[ Pocketwatches tend to be that, and even if the watch is broken, the time is set at an important time... It's what he learned. ]

I'll try to find the owner later.

[partymagician]

Ah… that’s true. Pocket watches are expensive, aren’t they?

[ He got a cheap one in one world, but he remembers the prices of the others.

Fai fixes Hien with a curious look. ]

So you really have learned how to fix watches…

[selfconcept]

... Yeah.

[ Hien puts the pocketwatch on his desk. ]

Used to work at a clock shop. Watches and pocketwatches and clocks... it's really a matter of knowing what can be used as a substitute and if it uses magical unknown materials, just study them a little. The foundation of it all are pretty much the same across all the worlds.

[partymagician]

Wow...

[ He smiles a little. ]

You know a lot of cool things, Hien. I'd be jealous if you were never willing to talk about all of it.