theafflicted | 04 - week four

04 - week four

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)

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[ Ashura gives Hien a sidelong glance before taking a few steps forward. ]

It isn't bait. It's a wish that Fai must grant me.

[ Fai stays put, unable to look up and at Ashura himself. ]

My magic is such that my power grows greater with everything I kill. [ He tilts his head. ] I wonder... if I kill you, perhaps my power will grow strong enough that Fai will have no choice but to kill me.

[ That finally gets Fai to look up, and when he does, tears are streaming down his cheeks. ]

That's why you brought me here?! So that when the day finally came, I'd be here to kill you?

You wanna test that?

[ Hien still doesn't strike first, because with the way Fai reacts, this person must be someone important to him. But still, Hien doesn't want to sit around and do nothing. If anything to divert his attention away from Fai for a little bit... ]

Your Majesty... he can't die. He won't give you more power.

[ That stops Ashura in the middle of his movement, his hand aimed right at Hien's chest.

He drops his hand. ]

A real shame.

[ Hien glances over at Fai in slight disbelief. He wanted to buy him time...

But that's fine. He walks towards Ashura instead. ]

What, so you won't fight me just because of that? Isn't that the bigger shame here?

[ Fai doesn't even look at Hien, knowing that he thwarted Hien's attempt to help.

But he doesn't want to risk Ashura's safety. ]

No. I don't waste my time. [ Ashura looks right at Fai. ] Kill me now, before I leave the castle and find others to kill.

...

Why do you want him to kill you so much?

[ Hien tries to be quick about getting the smallest physical contact with Ashura, whether that be touching a strand of his hair or anything, so he swipes with his arm. ]

Because that is my wish.

[ Ashura says it flatly, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. He does his best to sidestep Hien, but whatever Hien attempts to do is successful. ]

He's cursed to kill the first person he comes across that is more powerful than him. What better cure to his curse than to kill me?

[ Fai's shoulders slump. ]

I don't want to... I can't.

[ ...

With the swipe, he manages to draw out a film reel. Each film displays a piece of Ashura's memory. Hien widens the distance between him and Ashura and sighs.

He understands why Ashura would want to do this, so he can't really hate him. If Hien was in that position, he'd probably use a similar method.

But he also understands why Fai doesn't want to.

So that's why he pinches a little of the film reel, making a small part disintegrate into fine powder. Hien attempts to put Ashura to sleep. ]

[ Ashura feels himself growing more and more tired. He's being put to sleep, isn't he...? ]

You're only delaying the inevitable for him. [ He looks at Fai. ] You should have killed me when you had the chance. The thing that will always inflict the most pain upon you... is your own kindheartedness...

[ With that, Ashura slumps onto the ground, sound asleep. Fai stares at him, tears falling down his cheeks. He doesn't think he can get them to stop. ]

He can kill something else, Your Majesty. He'll be in good hands.

[ He puts the film reel back inside Ashura's head. ]

And for the record, there's nothing wrong with being kind.

[ He stands in front of Fai, but doesn't say anything. ]

[ Fai is silent for a while, staring at the ground so he doesn't have to look at Hien or Ashura or any of the fallen guards in here. ]

...Isn't there? When you're someone like me, it's a weakness.

Kindness in moderation. Practice it. When you get stronger, you can come and kill me. At least I won't die from it for good.

[ ... ]

I understand how you feel, but at the same time, I understand him too. He must have loved you a lot, because he wanted to sacrifice himself to get rid of your curse.

Why? How can you care about someone so much that you'd let them kill you?

[ He doesn't understand, and he also doesn't understand why Hien is offering himself up like that too, even if he won't die forever. ]

I don't want to kill you either.

... Unfortunately, you'll understand the feeling when you get older.

[ Fai is basically the same physical age, but hopefully he knows what Hien means. ]

I'm sorry that you have to experience this.

...

[ Will he, though? Fai isn't so sure. ]

My existence causes bad things to happen. So, this isn't something you need to apologize for.

[ His brother, the tower, the only father figure he ever had turning on him... Fai is the common element here.

It's his fault. ]

Edited 2022-06-19 22:16 (UTC)

[ Hien kneels in front of Fai. ]

It's not your fault. I said it and I'll say it again. It's not your fault.

But I...

[ He pulls his coat more tightly around him. ]

I want to believe you. It's... hard.

[ He puts his hand on Fai's shoulders and adjusts the coat so that he can duck his head to cover the bottom half of his face if he wants to. ]

Someone believed in superstition and destroyed their own country. Someone cursed you and blamed you for a decision that you didn't make. Someone wanted to get rid of that curse for you, because they loved you. You, Fai D. Flowright, had no hand in their actions. Their actions are driven by them and them alone.

...

[ How does Hien have his full name? That's strange. He didn't have a full name when he was in Valeria, much less the D title.

But he's so emotionally exhausted that he can't even think about it right now. ]

Then why am I the common factor in all of this?

Confirmation bias. Bad things happen to people. It just so happens that a lot more bad things happen to you too, but you're never the only one suffering a lot. If others thought that, we would have curses in every world, even those without magic.

[ ... ]

If I break your hand, you can say that's my fault, because it is. But if you leave and then later, your hand breaks because of an accident, you can think of it as my fault because I was the last person you saw when you left. Think about it, Fai. It doesn't make sense.

[ His shoulders slump. Hien has a point, and the rational side of his mind tries to latch onto it. ]

...

[ Part of him wants to collapse onto the floor and lay there for a while. ]

[ Hien pulls Fai into a hug and holds him tightly, just like on that day inside the tower. ]

I'm sorry. But just know... it's not your fault. You never wanted this to happen. If anything, please remember that.

[ Fai leans against him, letting himself have that much for now, at least. It's comforting, even if he feels hollow inside, the ache in his heart the only thing he can feel.

He stays like that for a while, letting Hien's words absorb into him.

Eventually, however... ]

...How did you know my full name?

... We meet some time in the future.

[ Is Hien the black haired person Fei Wang Reed told Fai to kill??? Of course not. But his hair is also black and he seems involved with Fai, so. ]

You helped me with a lot of stuff. This time, I wanted to help you. So, I'm glad that you were born. I'm happy to have met you.

[ It's a shock to hear, especially from someone he still doesn't really know. In the back of his mind, he even wonders if this is the person he's meant to kill, but for his own sake he has to dismiss that thought. ]

I... I'm glad I could help you.

[ As for everything else, he's not sure how he should feel about it. Of course, it's nice to hear, but it also leaves him with a lot of confused emotions. ]

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selfconcept - 2022-06-20 01:01 (UTC) - Expand

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