(Catch all) Ominous October Threads

[insinning]

Who: Sinclair and You.
What: Dungeon runs, trauma bonding etc
When: All throughout October.
Warnings: Gore, Emeto, Psychological horror in one thread, NSFW stuff in another

“I see now that the path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being—one of many ways—and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming.”

Comments

[ophidie]

[She keeps pot-managing, occasionally fishing out what can be saved when it's ready to be saved. Why is there brisket all the way at the bottom here...? Better eat it fast, Vogel.]

Mm. Especially the meat, if you sliced it thinly enough. You said you had someone to help you, didn't you?

[She's also doing this with gloves on, so after giving his overworked hands that look, she can keep it to herself.]

[insinning]

[Shhhh. Sinclair will still a piece of brisket. That's the best part]

Mmm. Tylor, H--Noir and I were working together on this. But um, someone showed Tylor how to slice it really thinly and then Tylor showed us.

[ophidie]

[As long as it isn't overcooked and he's happy with it, then that's fine. She's much too focused playing pot savior for the moment to eat any for herself, but eventually she does pause to eat some of the brisket before it goes to waste.]

You've done well, [she says in genuine praise. It's difficult to believe this was mostly an amateur effort.] ... There's more than I expected. [A lot of meat.] Are you sure we can finish it all?

[insinning]

Thank you--

[Sinclair beams happily, appreciating the praise.

Though on the food...He looks over at Oria. He's not kirby-ing. But he's not showing any signs of stopping either.]

I think we'll be fine.

[ophidie]

I thought at the very least, even if there's some left over, it should preserve at least a while in our inventories. Unless they've taken that away from us as well.

[This sort of food isn't made to be leftovers, but when they're already fighting scarcity and what they'd needed to gather had been so extensive, there's no sense in letting it go to waste.

She turns her head to follow the line of Vogel's gaze.]

Ah. Looks that way.

[insinning]

I'm sure we can preserve this in our inventories too if you want to take any left overs later.

[Doubt]

That function seems to be working as usual.

[ophidie]

We'll have to see what's left over.

[And while she'll say that as diplomatically as possible, her tone does imply that she won't be counting any of the eggs in that basic prematurely.]

There's probably going to be another game update soon. [It seems like it's been the usual amount of time. It should be any day now... or maybe it's already happened and she hasn't noticed it.] Anything we can bring into it will be useful since we don't know what's going to happen.

[insinning]

It's usually a big one every two weeks, huh...?

[ Sinclair frowns, watching another piece of meat cook quickly]


... we'll do another run for more supplies soon. It's not completely a pain yet.

[ophidie]

[Miharu hates this kind of metaphor normally, but it comes to mind as yet more complete ingredients simmer to the surface that they're tending a nabe of their own. No sooner is one thing finished than it needs to be replaced.]

Right back into it, [she sighs in agreement.] We can only intend to rest for so long.

[insinning]

That's why we need to enjoy it when we can. Things have gotten this far, but...it's not hopeless yet.

[Does Sinclair need to get pushy about the food...he's not good at this because his appetite tends to be on the small side too but]

...Scitalis, I know you're already part of Glamour, but would you like to join Phantom Operatives too?

[ophidie]

[She answers him with a small smile and silence. He's too nice; she can't burst his bubble by accepting the hopelessness just yet.]

I'd hate to intrude. [As far as she can remember, it's Noir's guild, so maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to be a little closer to them. Even so...] I'm not sure I'm the kind of person the guild is looking to recruit.

[But then, do guild "missions" even matter, when almost everyone's main objective needs to be survival now?]

[insinning]

I think you're exactly the type of person we need.

[ Someone sensible, maybe even cynical to balance out the otherwise bubbly personalities]

[ophidie]

Is that so? Even if I can't claim to have any investment when it comes to protecting others?

[He should, at least, be careful to keep any image of her as an altruistic person out of his mind. She's already adopted the belief that, even if some of them should survive, not everyone here can be saved.]

[insinning]

You're good at investigations. [Sinclair for all his love for the people he's decided were people he needed to stand by or protect...he thinks he's a selfish person too] And you helped me back then.

[ophidie]

I know. [She wasn't the one who solved it in the end, she wants to point out to him. But then, most of them got carried away by the specter of something bigger, on a ghost hunt for a simple answer before they really knew the extent of their worries.

In retrospect, she feels stupid about how much she was carried away by her theorizing. It's hard to muster up the drive to do all of that again, difficult to care when ennui is tugging at her heels. Even so - ]

It's why I came back.

[insinning]

[Maybe she didn't. But she got him started and on the right track]

...I know we're stuck in a terrible situation right now but...I am glad you came back.

[He fidgets, reaching out to add some more meat to the pot]

I don't want to forget anyone. Or have them forget themselves or the people around them. Is it okay if I give you my real name?

[ophidie]

[It isn't the first time this has come up recently; that it isn't the first time she's had to wrestle with the idea of bringing more of her outside self into Fragment to keep it real probably makes it easier to swallow - the reminder that there's more that's real than just this.]

I'm not opposed. [Neutral words, though the actual sentiment behind them is much stronger.] I think in some ways you already know me better than people I knew before.

[insinning]

[If he leaves enough of himself with people, he thinks, he can't possibly forget himself then. He understands the sentiment, and he can't help but smile warmly]

My real name is Emil Sinclair. Please don't let me forget.

[ophidie]

I won't allow you to lose sight of yourself, Emil. [There are no guarantees, so maybe she should be careful about making that kind of promise. But she sounds earnest enough as she does, like that commit is what they need to get through this.]

My name is Miharu. As for my surname, it's a little complicated, so...



((*I realize it sounds super weird to say "the name she would give him is a spoiler for her OU canon" but it's true, if that's ok with you))

[insinning]

Mm. I understand. Mine would have been awkward back home too. [ But here, no one knew what weight 'Sinclair' held now. Maybe back home, people would have forgotten too]

Miharu...I wont forget or let you forget either.

((totally understand o7))

\o tbh i don't care about spoilers but i didn't want to whip it out without warning first lol

[ophidie]

Really? Then you get it. It's different when you're already not supposed to give out your information online. [He certainly does seem to understand more about her than most people. He isn't the only one here, but it's strange how much it's happened. Is it that their similar situations have brought so many people together, or was she always too busy keeping people away?]

Mine... I had my father's name before, but we changed it. I don't know if I ever changed it in my heart. [She says this a little bitterly, not with a lot of sentimentality, as if she sees herself as stupid for it.] But if you ever needed to find me, my legal name is Mishima.

[Maybe he should know that much, at least, just in case... in case one of them gets out of here, and the other doesn't.]

/o/ whoo

[insinning]

All your names are important. No matter what.

[Sinclair believes this with a certainty - it's not stupid at all.

At home, he had been alone for so long. But now, there were people who understood him in a way he didn't think was possible. Maybe it was the nature of the game to let their real selves shine through]

But "Miharu Mishima"...I'll remember it too. Once we get out of here...[Not "if" but "when". They need to keep moving like that or they'll just give into despair]

I'd like to see everyone that I can, to make sure they really are okay.

[There are lots of reasons to visit Japan now.

Haru, Miharu, Nanashi...and of course, to visit places where Hani and Justy would like to take him, if they had the chance]

[ophidie]

Maybe you're onto something. Maybe the things we hold onto have their own power, and since it's still important to me, I haven't been able to let it go.

[Does she sound superstitious? It isn't as if she really puts much stock into the power of belief, but fewer and fewer things about the world seem explainable. What they want wouldn't be the most ridiculous thing to try and manifest.]

I don't care for goodbyes, so if it doesn't need to be the end of things when we go our separate ways... I'd be happy with that.

[He gets an actual smile from her with that, soft-lined and genuine instead of closed off.]

[insinning]

I think, as long as we want to hold it, it can't disappear from us. Not truly.

[ It's a nice smile. Sinclair can't help but smile back in turn, warmer in turn. Belief was fading fast in this world; they had to hang onto what they had. And their names were the one thing that bound them to themselves.

A future dream, for when they leave. It wont be all that simple, he knows. But the logistics of it weren't important right now. What was most important was this]

I'm glad. [Sinclair is all sincerity and no artifice; and whether that was a good or bad thing depended the situation.] Then, lets make it part of our plans then. For after.