thebastion | [Days 197 → 200] Goodnight song, played so wrong... [OPEN]

[Days 197 → 200] Goodnight song, played so wrong... [OPEN]

Who: Quarantined survivors who came back from the Radio Tower mission, anyone who wants to risk visiting them.
Open: Open
When: Day 197 → Day 200
Where: The Hospital, in the wing that Colin sectioned off
What: So that Radio Tower mission didn't exactly go according to plan, did it? Despite Rin's efforts to cleanse everyone with her flames, Colin has insisted on Quarantine and has shoved everyone involved in to the hospital to wait it out and hope that no symptoms show up. Boredom, Pokemon egg hatching and other such shenanigans ensue.
Format: any
Warnings: The designated Patient Zeros are involved in this, and will beginning showing symptoms starting Day 200, kicking off the second part of the Sickness Within plot.

[Basically what it says at the top. Individual threads for the different days are set up below, so thread around as you see fit!]

NOTE: This comment has information about the disease that can be used during this event.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Koaru. [ He answers without hesitation or more thought on the matter. The boy was on his mind, always. ]

But it has nothing to with what we are and everything to do with the life we should have been able to have.

Some how I knew you were gonna say that...

[ He shakes his head slightly, casting a sidelong glance to Rin and sighing softly. ]

You two, you and Suguro-san...I truly hope the two of you come together at last. You are so close and yet... [ A shake of his head.]

People are afraid to love now, I think. We all need to let ourselves do so or there is nothing worth saving.

E-eh?! Who said anythin' about us bein' afraid to love?!

Oh no no, do not misunderstand. [ He chuckled, arching a brow at the girl and raising a hand lightly to stave off any possible outburst. ]

You two are in love and close. It is quite plain to see, though there are complications as with...many such relationships. [ He says, speaking from too much experience. Maybe a little wearily. And bitterly. ]

I am simply saying that I think what you both have is one of those things that makes everything else alright. The worlds ended, but life did not.

O-oh... well...

[awkward fidgeting]

It probably shouldn't've taken the end of the world for me to realize just how much I cared about him...

My dear, some people never recognize their feelings for one another, regardless of the events that occur around them. If I were you, I would simply regard it as the blessing it is and cling to it.

[ He snorts a soft laugh, glancing off to the side before inclining his head. ] And admittedly...sometimes it is for the best that we do not admit our feelings prematurely. Had I ever spoken of my feelings in the past, my grief might have been too great to allow me to meet and love anyone as I have done now.

Things happen the way they do for good reasons, even if we are not always privy to the purpose of celestial designs.

I-- yeah... that's true.

There was still a lotta shit goin' on back home, before we ever got here. It'd calmed down a bit before the festival was gonna start but... I'unno. I have this naggin' feeling that somethin' was goin' on where we couldn't see it...

[The way Mephisto was acting about the eye drops for Godaiin and how she had revealed her true nature to Rin during their dinner had left Rin wondering. Not to mention the way Yuki had been behaving, and how Rin was certain her sister had been keeping ever more secrets from her than usual.

But as always it was a situation she could never quite put together in her head, and she thought herself too stupid to make any sort of sense of what few clues she had been given.]

Even if I had said somethin' to Bon back then, and he had been okay with it... the way things were goin', I don't think he woulda been willin' to actually have a relationship beyond friends. He was really focused on his studies and probably woulda been more so if somethin' else like the Impure King incident happened again.

Precisely why, despite the terrible events that caused it and the atrocity it is, we must also be grateful in times like these. Things that bring even strangers together, let alone those you already felt for.

I do not converse much, or integrate well, this much I understand, but it does not mean I am not watching. Sorrow strikes often here, but the people of the Bastion are strong in will and heart. Survival is not a question, if we can make it through this plague as well.

What matters now is preserving the most basic principles of life. Love is one of the most powerful and enduring things any people can have, human or otherwise. Without it and without the means to cultivate it, all of this struggle is pointless.

You two have something very wonderful, and I hope you find the strength to help it flourish.

I hope we can, too. I mean, we're still kids, but... we've also grown up a whole lot since we got here.

I'm sure he's worried about me, but I'm gonna come outta this okay. I have to...

I believe we all will. If nothing else, we have all become survivors of some sort. When this passes, as things do, I hope to correct some very troubling issues of my own.

Things have become complicated. I want to uncomplicate them.

How have they become complicated?

[ He considers his options, expression one of a man weighing and debating thoroughly before speaking. Eventually he sighs and nods. ]

I believe Hikaru may be right in his assumptions that I am more of a threat or liability to Kaoru than a relatable and worthy fixture in his life.

Whaaaaaat? Are you seriously gonna give his stupid pointless jealousy credit?! He's just pissed 'cause he ain't used to havin' his twin give more attention to some one that isn't him!

[She does like Hikaru but damn does she not want to see him become the thing that ends Seimei and Kaoru's realtionship.]

It is not only that. [ He replies, arching a brow at Rin's outburst with a faint smile. Much as loud and vulgar people tended to get on his nerves - including that awful ahikigami of his - he appreciated the vibrancy of those people in turn. ]

I cannot continue to lead a sedentary life and provide for those I care about. I cannot tell Kaoru what he must not do while also offering him the freedom to make his own choices. I cannot protect Kaoru from himself.

I made a mistake. I promised never to harm him, which I would never knowingly do, but I also promised no harm would come to him because of me...and...I cannot control a human heart. Nor can I control his every action without fostering resentment. He will do what he will do...but because of my promise, now I am responsible for ever hurt he suffers.

[She's been vulgar this long, Seimei. Best to just get used to it when it comes to her.]

Ain't that what bein' in a relationship is about, though? You're never gonna get some fairy tale couple thing goin' on, especially not in this place. If you're gonna try to run away from him every time somethin' goes wrong then you're just makin' things worse.

You ain't responsible for his feelings, y'know. Even the hurt ones. It happens. Everyone makes mistakes, Seimei, and you're probably gonna make a hundred more when it comes to him. He still loves you. Ain't that the important thing?

Love is important. Love is why I wonder if I should not stop now, before its impossible to go. We have built this life together and it has been interrupted. Anything else and I would fight it, but this is his brother. His genuine other half.

[ He sighs, shaking his head slightly and looking towards the window thoughtfully. ]

I made a promise I cannot keep, but breaking my word is disgraceful. If I must break my word, I should only do so once. I feel like I am clutching to a cliff by my fingertips.

[Rin puffs out her cheeks in annoyance at that. She doesn't like hearing this from him, especially after watching the two of them for so long knowing just how much they care about each other.]

You're givin' up too easily! Hikaru may be his twin but that doesn't mean he should stand in the way of two people who really love each other! D'you think Yukio is doin' that to me and Ryuuji?! Hell no!

If you stop now you're just gonna break his heart, and ain't that the worst thing you could ever do to him?!

No. The worst thing I can do is get in the way of his life with Hikaru. [ He sighed, shaking his head slowly. ]

What am I, Lady Rin? I am nothing. I am a creature of a world gone - the last of my kind, so far as I know. Moreover I am diminished. I was powerful and feared and here I am perhaps little better than the common man. I do not hate this change, but I despise this weakness. This...impotence.

Once, I was so very good at advising others in their affairs, and yet now I am deficient. I cannot advise myself. I cannot find a way to keep my word, to give them space, to have Kaoru. I cannot find a means of doing everything. Doing what I want will make me selfish, and being selfish makes me unworthy of him. I am at a loss.

[You're doing a good job of pissing her off more and more, Seimei.]

Bullshit! That is such complete bullshit! If that's your logic then I shouldn't be with Ryuuji, either! So what if you're not as powerful as you were, does that make a damn bit of difference where Kaoru's heart is concerned?! Hell no!

[And now there's a finger in his face, Rin threatening with fangs bared.]

I swear to God if you hurt him by leavin' him, I'll hate you forever. I will never forgive you for doin' somethin' so stupid.

[ The aggression is greeted with calm silence, dark eyes unwavering as the onmyoji inhales deeply and exhales slowly. After several moments he rises from his seat, bows politely and steps around Rin. ]

I may value your friendship and your opinion, Lady Rin, but your raised voice and your gesturing is both rude and insulting. I might point out that screeching like a termagant does you no credit and devalues whatever point you are attempting to make by forcing the listener to tune you out for their own health.

When you feel inclined to speak to me respectfully, perhaps we can continue our talk.

Excluding this particular subject.

Excuse me.

[Rin lets him leave. She had expected something like that reaction because most people didn't handle being told such things well.

That doesn't stop her from calling out once he's some distance away, though.]

You know I'm right.

[Whether or not anything good will come of that remains to be seen...]

[ He pauses, inhaling slowly and knowing better than to be baited but looking over his shoulder anyways. ]

No. You are not right, Lady Rin. Believing yourself to be right and being right are entirely different things, and shouting a point does not make it magically more true the louder you get.

You are not listening, which has ever been a failing of yours.

My power is what I used to protect others. I made a promise. A promise I cannot keep. I do not know if promises mean anything in your time, but in mine, they are binding. You are only as good as your word, and I gave mine in haste to someone who already despises me.

I cannot keep my promise, and it was a stipulation. Do you understand? I do not believe I can explain it in simpler terms.

Talk to him then.

[Maybe she's not listening, but at this point she doesn't even care about that because the way he's talking it's going to end something that she's been watching since the start of their time here.

They are both her friends, but the last thing she wants to see is Kaoru get hurt because Seimei can't see past his own failings and misgivings.]

Tell him that. Tell him you think you have to walk away from him. Tell him that you have to end things because of Hikaru. Watch his face as you break his heart completely. And then go ahead and try to tell me I'm wrong.

[She wasn't going to let him finish walking away either. She stood and grabbed Tepig off the floor, turning and storming in to her room with a slam of the door that could be heard down the hallway.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Days 197 → 200] Goodnight song, played so wrong... [OPEN]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject