[ What, with Dokja calling out Biyoo's name? Joonghyuk frowns though, since that is Dokja's hostage. I guess these are nectarines. Dokja may have a piece. ]
Are you all right? Is your head screwed on properly?
[ the question does come off as weird to Dokja, raising a brow. ] ..Not sure how many times the other two suffered a time loop, but I went through at least one. Suppose you can think of it as us regressing.
The moment we died, we started back over at a start point. We'd remember everything that happened before that. [ closes my eyes, me personally not kdj. he will take the nectarine, staring at the piece for a moment. ] It wasn't until much later I found Biyoo. She was.. warm. She felt very real.
[ was it fake? there's a flicker in Dokja's eyes, a heartbroken look as he stares at his hands. no familiar white fur to be seen and it does break his heart. fill him with a sense of longing. ]
Usually no. [ pops the fruit piece into his mouth. ]
"Lotus Island." Something about it, a mechanic of sorts that would activate. It separated us the first time. I ended up in a mansion, and when I explored... I found portraits of myself. Moments throughout my life.
Another spark, then suddenly I was trapped in the wing with a fire spreading. As the portraits burned, I started to forget parts of myself- I think. It wasn't long until I burned to death. [ Jin stuffs her muzzle against his hand, whining softly. ] When we woke up, it was back near the beginning of the island. I remembered dying, could feel phantom pains of it. We remembered our previous path we took and went a different way.
We ended up coming to a cliffside and the mechanic happened again. A bone I had been using to help myself climb was suddenly impaled in my hand. [ looks at his hand that, well is now healed but. ] They aren't usually real but I still have the injuries from it. Not just that timeline, but the previous one as well.
[ ... ]
"The art of regret is a time-honored tradition. You will be a part of that heritage, dear listener. Do not resist, it will be over soon. Your participation will ensure clear communication with Biyoo, Aruji, and Nikaido."
[ at least, throughout his storytelling, he sounds and seems like himself. tired, frustrated, a hot anger that blazes when he thinks of how Biyoo was right there. real or not- his mind, his body, it's convinced it was her. her that he felt in his arms, the sound of her voice as she praised and encouraged him. it brings a stinging heartbreak in his chest. ]
[ All of that sounds so ominous, especially with the last part that sounds like it takes on the voice of the Nightman or the host.
Joonghyuk is still skeptical, unsure of what to believe. Even his trips held some truth, but they were always mixed in with other mechanics, increasingly fantastical that reminded him it wasn’t all entirely real. The wounds inflicted, the damage done, it stays… But people seem to be mirages.
What is real is that Dokja got to see Biyoo, if it’s the one they are trying to save he isn’t sure. In the end, he can only comfort Dokja… He has told him more than he expected, even if he doesn’t think this is the whole truth. Gently, he sneaks a hand over the other’s and leave it there. He’s still burned. ]
There was another message we heard on the radio before that: "The island is famously sought out by those seeking a higher purpose, and those who would prefer to relax in pleasure and luxury. Famously named after the lotus flower, Lotus Island calls to those who wish to fix their past and secure their future."
[ he startles just slightly at the gentle touch, as if he hadn't been expecting it. so engrossed in his thoughts and playing back what had happened. his shoulders ease a little and he turns his hand carefully just to return the gentle touch. ]
When we regressed the first time, I wondered if that's what the message was referring to. Fixing it once our choices led to failure. Securing the future, maybe for our hostages?
[ of course, it's just a theory. ]
When I found Biyoo in the mines, I was alone. She didn't really speak much with her words. [ mostly the chiming soft "baat!" but you would still have a way of understanding the emotions behind her cries. ] But I knew she trusted me to lead her out.
..Which, right before I found her, the radio talked of Orpheus and Eurydice. [ "-Orpheus that he could take Eurydice back with him but under one condition: she would have to follow behind him while walking out from the caves of the underworld, and he could not turn to look at her as they walked. - unable to hear Eurydice's footsteps, however, he began to fear-" ] I could hear her behind me as I walked but, about halfway out it grew silent behind me.
... I wouldn't say fixing your past and securing someone else's future leisurely.
[ He really doesn't like how this all sounds. Of course, it's fine if it happens to him. He has been through similar in his own life, but... Dokja isn't a regressor. He has only read about it. It isn't the same.
He doesn't do more than allow the gentle touch. The last thing he wants is to startle Dokja into some kind of nervous attack. ]
You were Orpheus once before. [ But not with the same conditions. More so that Dokja has gone down to the underworld once without guarantee of escape. ] ... You looked behind?
[ It's true, in a sense. That time also involved doing what he can to save Biyoo- who had been Shin Yoosung of the 41st round. ]
It was tempting. [ just to reassure himself. ] But no, I didn't. Eventually, I left the mines and she was there again. Flying right into my arms.
[ expected of their spoiled fluffball... but that brief fond is gone as he considers the rest of the events. ] We didn't get to spend much time. The.. lights happened again, whatever the world's mechanic is, and we ended up back to the very start in a ferry.
"-sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now."
Arrived back not long after that.
[ he grows briefly quietly before there's the frustration again. faced it now? faced what exactly? a time loop after time loop? finally seeing their hostages, only to lose them again? what's the point of all that? to instill some desperation? ]
[ He's pleased to know that Dokja stayed strong despite temptations. It's too easy to fall into them and think you can fix it all. Staying quiet, he takes it in, though his eyebrows furrow. ]
This mechanic is strange. [ ... ] What could those words mean? You've faced a worldline where you could save Biyoo? In the end, she is not here.
[ With a light click, it opens up to show... a tiny photograph of Biyoo. ]
A picture for one, which I'm assuming the others might have images of their own hostage in theirs. [ maybe? the center stone of the locket is glowing a soft blue color. ]
But otherwise it allows me to access one power from home.
Once I happen to use my power I'll be able to tell you. Until then, I can try to compare my own with another's and see if anything seems off but. We'll just have to see.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[ What, with Dokja calling out Biyoo's name? Joonghyuk frowns though, since that is Dokja's hostage. I guess these are nectarines. Dokja may have a piece. ]
Are you all right? Is your head screwed on properly?
no subject
[ the question does come off as weird to Dokja, raising a brow. ] ..Not sure how many times the other two suffered a time loop, but I went through at least one. Suppose you can think of it as us regressing.
The moment we died, we started back over at a start point. We'd remember everything that happened before that. [ closes my eyes, me personally not kdj. he will take the nectarine, staring at the piece for a moment. ] It wasn't until much later I found Biyoo. She was.. warm. She felt very real.
[ was it fake? there's a flicker in Dokja's eyes, a heartbroken look as he stares at his hands. no familiar white fur to be seen and it does break his heart. fill him with a sense of longing. ]
no subject
... You know those trips—they're usually not real.
no subject
"Lotus Island." Something about it, a mechanic of sorts that would activate. It separated us the first time. I ended up in a mansion, and when I explored... I found portraits of myself. Moments throughout my life.
Another spark, then suddenly I was trapped in the wing with a fire spreading. As the portraits burned, I started to forget parts of myself- I think. It wasn't long until I burned to death. [ Jin stuffs her muzzle against his hand, whining softly. ] When we woke up, it was back near the beginning of the island. I remembered dying, could feel phantom pains of it. We remembered our previous path we took and went a different way.
We ended up coming to a cliffside and the mechanic happened again. A bone I had been using to help myself climb was suddenly impaled in my hand. [ looks at his hand that, well is now healed but. ] They aren't usually real but I still have the injuries from it. Not just that timeline, but the previous one as well.
[ ... ]
"The art of regret is a time-honored tradition. You will be a part of that heritage, dear listener. Do not resist, it will be over soon. Your participation will ensure clear communication with Biyoo, Aruji, and Nikaido."
[ at least, throughout his storytelling, he sounds and seems like himself. tired, frustrated, a hot anger that blazes when he thinks of how Biyoo was right there. real or not- his mind, his body, it's convinced it was her. her that he felt in his arms, the sound of her voice as she praised and encouraged him. it brings a stinging heartbreak in his chest. ]
no subject
Joonghyuk is still skeptical, unsure of what to believe. Even his trips held some truth, but they were always mixed in with other mechanics, increasingly fantastical that reminded him it wasn’t all entirely real. The wounds inflicted, the damage done, it stays… But people seem to be mirages.
What is real is that Dokja got to see Biyoo, if it’s the one they are trying to save he isn’t sure. In the end, he can only comfort Dokja… He has told him more than he expected, even if he doesn’t think this is the whole truth. Gently, he sneaks a hand over the other’s and leave it there. He’s still burned. ]
How did you resolve this? How did it end?
[ … ]
What did she say to you?
no subject
[ he startles just slightly at the gentle touch, as if he hadn't been expecting it. so engrossed in his thoughts and playing back what had happened. his shoulders ease a little and he turns his hand carefully just to return the gentle touch. ]
When we regressed the first time, I wondered if that's what the message was referring to. Fixing it once our choices led to failure. Securing the future, maybe for our hostages?
[ of course, it's just a theory. ]
When I found Biyoo in the mines, I was alone. She didn't really speak much with her words. [ mostly the chiming soft "baat!" but you would still have a way of understanding the emotions behind her cries. ] But I knew she trusted me to lead her out.
..Which, right before I found her, the radio talked of Orpheus and Eurydice. [ "-Orpheus that he could take Eurydice back with him but under one condition: she would have to follow behind him while walking out from the caves of the underworld, and he could not turn to look at her as they walked. - unable to hear Eurydice's footsteps, however, he began to fear-" ] I could hear her behind me as I walked but, about halfway out it grew silent behind me.
[ so what did Kim Dokja do? ]
no subject
[ He really doesn't like how this all sounds. Of course, it's fine if it happens to him. He has been through similar in his own life, but... Dokja isn't a regressor. He has only read about it. It isn't the same.
He doesn't do more than allow the gentle touch. The last thing he wants is to startle Dokja into some kind of nervous attack. ]
You were Orpheus once before. [ But not with the same conditions. More so that Dokja has gone down to the underworld once without guarantee of escape. ] ... You looked behind?
no subject
It was tempting. [ just to reassure himself. ] But no, I didn't. Eventually, I left the mines and she was there again. Flying right into my arms.
[ expected of their spoiled fluffball... but that brief fond is gone as he considers the rest of the events. ] We didn't get to spend much time. The.. lights happened again, whatever the world's mechanic is, and we ended up back to the very start in a ferry.
"-sometimes it makes you incredibly sad. But at least you've faced it now."
Arrived back not long after that.
[ he grows briefly quietly before there's the frustration again. faced it now? faced what exactly? a time loop after time loop? finally seeing their hostages, only to lose them again? what's the point of all that? to instill some desperation? ]
no subject
This mechanic is strange. [ ... ] What could those words mean? You've faced a worldline where you could save Biyoo? In the end, she is not here.
[ Frowns. ]
Is that supposed to satisfy any of us?
no subject
[ a huff, he's annoyed. he holds up the locket in his hand a bit more. ]
It wasn't without some kind of reward at least. I got two tickets and this locket out of it.
no subject
The other group received a locket as well.
[ He hasn't asked them cause he knows they're all sneaky weirdos. ]
What does it do?
no subject
A picture for one, which I'm assuming the others might have images of their own hostage in theirs. [ maybe? the center stone of the locket is glowing a soft blue color. ]
But otherwise it allows me to access one power from home.
no subject
... Do you get to choose?
no subject
What's that look for? [ bich ] It's more likely a one time use. I doubt we would get an ability back for good.
no subject
That'll be useful for you, then, even if one use. However, there are others with a locket.
no subject
[ stop greed. ]
no subject
[ HE WILL ALWAYS GREED ]
no subject
[ a whole whoppin 7. ] We'll see if everyone brings them along to the trial.
no subject
[ ... ]
Did you get the feeling that this may all be a dream as well?
no subject
[ blinks a bit, then glances off to the side. ]
Hard to say.
[ given his own episodes back home. ]
no subject
I will be here.
[ To watch over him because he remembers the stupid effect from his cyoa. ]
no subject
[ a huff (affectionate) ]
We have some time before we head out to curfew.
[ dwell in another's company before they dip out to the lobby. closes thread ]