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maskormenacelogs2019-10-01 08:55 pm
fauxmarth) wrote in maskormenacelogs2019-10-01 08:55 pm
Entry tags:
poetry with amber imagery or something [OPEN]
WHO: Lucina, various
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, De Chima, misc
WHEN: Early/mid-October
WHAT: assorted happenings
WARNINGS: labeled in subject headers
Maurtia Falls
Lucina's main haunts are still in this city of conflict -- same as it has been, those two and a half years ago. Gods, has it been so long already? So much else has changed...her, too.
She resides on a residential block in a rental house, and might be encountered in the wee hours of the morning on her way out to work, or perhaps on the rare day off, tearing up the sad excuse for a garden she'd tried (sort of) to maintain (and failed to) in preparation for winter.
Downtown, she frequents a cafe and pastry shop where she's made many a friend and good memory. Catching her before she hustles off on patrol or another duty is a great chance for a free treat and a chat...or perhaps a means of teaming up for a bit of crime busting?
At Helix, the base of operations for Aegis Force, practically her second home, she is constantly either at work or training for work. It's not as frantic and despairing as the month before, so she can be a cheerful spotter or sparring partner, or she can help with some kitchen chores or monitor duty! She also likes to take her breaks on the rooftop helipad, enjoying the cooler air as the weather starts to behave more like autumn.
De Chima
It's not a place she visits too often, but at least once a week, Lucina tries to make time to volunteer at the O'Malley Clinic. She's not much of a nurse, but if you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be bandaged up nearly immobile as a mummy for a simple scrape? She's your girl. Also don't you dare try to escape until treatment is over! She can double as a bouncer.
There's always a chance to catch her in the skies, as flying is her favorite pastime -- and it beats traffic. Hopefully she's not spying any trouble from on high, but if you're in a pinch, she can swoop down and lend a hand (or sword)!
Misc
You're welcome to put in a starter or come bug me @![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
whyellewhy to brainstorm
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, De Chima, misc
WHEN: Early/mid-October
WHAT: assorted happenings
WARNINGS: labeled in subject headers
Maurtia Falls
Lucina's main haunts are still in this city of conflict -- same as it has been, those two and a half years ago. Gods, has it been so long already? So much else has changed...her, too.
She resides on a residential block in a rental house, and might be encountered in the wee hours of the morning on her way out to work, or perhaps on the rare day off, tearing up the sad excuse for a garden she'd tried (sort of) to maintain (and failed to) in preparation for winter.
Downtown, she frequents a cafe and pastry shop where she's made many a friend and good memory. Catching her before she hustles off on patrol or another duty is a great chance for a free treat and a chat...or perhaps a means of teaming up for a bit of crime busting?
At Helix, the base of operations for Aegis Force, practically her second home, she is constantly either at work or training for work. It's not as frantic and despairing as the month before, so she can be a cheerful spotter or sparring partner, or she can help with some kitchen chores or monitor duty! She also likes to take her breaks on the rooftop helipad, enjoying the cooler air as the weather starts to behave more like autumn.
De Chima
It's not a place she visits too often, but at least once a week, Lucina tries to make time to volunteer at the O'Malley Clinic. She's not much of a nurse, but if you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be bandaged up nearly immobile as a mummy for a simple scrape? She's your girl. Also don't you dare try to escape until treatment is over! She can double as a bouncer.
There's always a chance to catch her in the skies, as flying is her favorite pastime -- and it beats traffic. Hopefully she's not spying any trouble from on high, but if you're in a pinch, she can swoop down and lend a hand (or sword)!
Misc
You're welcome to put in a starter or come bug me @
no subject
It doesn't quite make him feel guilty over his own desires to destroy his home—or what should be his home, but it does make him feel odd. It does make them an interesting foil. Lucina coming from a world destroyed, while Guzma comes from a world he wants to destroy. Less so wiping everything out, but enough to level it all, start it all over...
He's at a loss for what to say, and so for a good few moments he's just quiet. He's never been good at words for comfort, and he's not even sure if that's what she wants? It's not like he was aiming to dig this sort of sensitive info out of her with his question, but he sees now how it should have been obvious territory that he was trekking through.
One thing in particular does settle into his chest, and he can't fight the impulse and need to know:]
...Does that include you?
[A little blunt, but that's just how Guzma is. He knows this place is a little weird with its porting shit, so he's left wondering how she knows this, because as far as he knows dead people aren't...can't?? be here...????
Is Lucina dead????]
no subject
she's trying to formulate a slapdash apology for sending the conversation into a tailspin when he asks of her fate, and while she probably shouldn't be too surprised to hear it, she somehow still is. she looks back up, eyebrows raised, her mouth pursed into a thin line for a beat longer before she shakes her head once more.]
No.
No, myself and...some others, we were able to reach something called an Outrealm gate. When I prayed to Divine Dragon Naga for aid, she told me that...it was already too late for the world. But that I could pass through there, go back in time, and try to save another instance of the world from the same fate.
[she shifts where she stands, folding her hands in front of her once more.]
That's actually...what I was doing, before I suddenly found myself here. [her mouth twitches as she tries to force some levity.] It was quite a shock...! I expected to see my homeland in brighter days, but instead, I was here.
no subject
What a depressing fate to be saddled with. To see everything you care about be destroyed, and then to be burdened with trying to save some alternate version of it. Like some cheap copy that's right enough to hit you in the heart and keep you invested, yet wrong enough to remind you of what you've truly lost.
And then to be brought here before you can even do it...]
That's rough.
[He says pretty plainly, but there's clear sympathy in the tone too. He's not being dismissive, but what can you even say? He too was interrupted before his and Lusamine's scheme could happen, and that sucked enough...but this is different. The weight isn't the same.]
All of it, not just showin' up here. But being stuck here for as long as you have, I bet that's torture, huh?
no subject
I know the threat that awaits me should I ever be returned to my task. And...if I'm the same Lucina my cousin knew, then...maybe I know the outcome, too.
[and whether or not she is that same Lucina who sees a victory over fell Grima? gods, she doesn't want to think about how much time she's spent wrestling with that. it's dreadful stuff, not knowing for sure if you're really meant for the greatness someone insists you are.
she sighs a little, then pushes a small smile on her face, her eyes downcast so she can peer at the little creature around her neck, unfolding her hands so she can lightly boop at its nose.]
But in a place like this... I can find a different future ahead of me. I've been able to see so much...learn so much, meet so many different people. [she ducks her head a little, a soft laugh in her voice.]
I've become very selfish here in ways. There's so much I want to keep for myself here, even though I know it isn't mine to stay. But it can be mine for as long as the present is here. And the future can be...far away for a little while longer. Whatever it might be. If that makes sense...
no subject
[He finally responds. Letting her get all of that out, his eyes never leaving her as she explained, as she opened up about this. It made him feel guilty in a way. How closed off he is about his own issues. He blinks his gaze away from her and down to Golisopod who seems full finally. Lifting his head to click lazily at his chops as he looks up at the two of them. Seeming blissfully unaware of the gravity of the topic.]
...But you ain't selfish. [a beat] For wantin' somethin' better for yourself.
[There's a weird edge to his voice, but it's not at her. It seems to come from something deeper than just this conversation. Maybe he's not only speaking to her. His eyes flick up to the Salandit around her neck, not directly at her though, oddly he's avoid her eyes. The Pokémon in question is loving the attention, even that little boop got a delighted trill from it, and now he's nuzzling up against her jaw line.
Guzma narrows his eyes a little.]
...The outcome your cousin knew—what was it?
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she offers Golisopod a warm look when she's glanced at and, tilting and lifting on her toes, she peers the gutted-out box with a bit of surprise. well, that certainly didn't go to waste, did it? she's glad.
her face warms a bit at Guzma's words, and she settles her feet flat back on the floor, keeping her gaze low. it feels strange to put such parts of her life out there for his assessment; she's not sure how she should take any response, frankly. she's even less sure, casting a quick glance up and seeing that expression of his, and for a beat she's quiet, her mouth pressed into a thin line.
the outcome...]
Well... [there'll be war. lots of it, no matter what she tries. losses, but...not to the scale of what she'd had to run from.
she'll see the faces of her parents again. and the one who betrayed them.]
Somehow, we'll keep my family alive, and we'll take Grima down. [and Owain will find a way to give their true parents a proper resting place. flowers, forever undisturbed, in a world that will never see the human race again...
she bobs her head with a nod before looking back up.]
He didn't give me all of the details. I think...he didn't want me to have all of that in my heart while I'm here. If all I thought about was the mission, nonstop, and it's been more than two years... [her mouth twitches.] I think I'd be more than a little insufferable. Right?
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[Insufferable...that word in particular sticks with Guzma for a moment, his eyes pulling away from Lucina's direction to settle more on his Pokémon again.
Pinsir has since removed the web from his face, sitting near the couch as he glares at Golisopod and Ariados that seem happy and plump from their meal. Golisopod seems content to watch the two talk, while Ariados nearly waddles his way up the wall to settle on the ceiling. Masquerain, having finished his rind of pumpkin, is dozing off again, looking like a silly little puddle of a bug on the cushion.]
So, you take down the big bad of your world, save your family—which means you succeed then, yeah? At least he told ya that much.
[He crosses his arms over his chest, thinking about this. She spoke of being a specific Lucina, and he gets where that's coming from, what with her messing with timelines and what not...it's all so complicated, but he thinks he gets it. However screwy it seems.]
Maybe it was a good idea that he didn't tell ya everything, like you said. Just the hopeful bits. There's enough here to weigh ya down, but then again...givin' you somethin' to be hopeful about with back home is kinda a double edge, in a way, huh?
[His own mind is a bit restless now, thinking about his own situation. What's waiting for him back home, how he wants to get back there sooner, rather than later, and yet...he feels conflicted. His eyes find themselves on Lucina again, scanning over her as if appraising her of something.
He's tried to keep his distance from people, tried to keep them back and away from him so he didn't get drawn in, yet that's happened despite those attempts. Here he is, in this...mess of a relationship with Lucina, something they haven't fully even named properly yet, and he cannot help but continue to be drawn to her.
Even his bond with Archie is a problem for his grand designs for leaving this place. Darin too, and the list kind of goes on. It's just the natural way of things, the natural need to form connections that even his robust and obnoxious ways cannot repel nor extinguish.
He shrugs, looking away from her again.]
Anyway, if anybody deserves to go home to a better endin', it's probably you. So, whatever comes from this place, you probably got loads better waitin' for you when you can finally leave.
I'm willin' to bet you're the right Lucina, can't imagine it being otherwise.
no subject
[she winces a little even as she breathes that out, her mouth drawn in a pained kind of smile.]
Well, I...I don't know about deserving or otherwise. [matters of deserving anything is what seemed to kick all of this they've got off, right? she won't forget those lines in a hurry.] But that's kind of you to say. [whether he wants it to be or not. honestly, she's not sure how he wants to be seen anymore: big, bad Guzma has more than a few softer edges than she'd realized before.]
Were I to be able to dictate much of anything about fate or this world? I'd say it could all stay connected. So if I were to ever go back... I could still remember it all.
[she fixes her gaze back on him -- easier to do, now with him looking elsewhere. she takes account of his expression, trying to cement it in mind next to those words he'd said.
going back...forgetting. she actually dreads it. she knows she wouldn't shirk her responsibilities, of course, because...she'd have had nothing like this to recall to make her want to. the Lucina she is now...will never be the one to go back and take arms against the fell dragon. would she have the resolve to? maybe. but in doing so...she'd still remember all the things of this world. she'd miss it.
she briefly wonders if she'd miss him, too.]
In any case, [she looks back to the full, lazy lumps splaying out all over the place.] I hope you weren't expecting them to do much at all. I seem to have knocked them all out...
no subject
[He offers with a huff. As if that somehow makes it...less kind? It's still a kind thing to say, regardless of how he tries to frame it after the fact. However, that likely answers her question about how he wants to be viewed still, stubbornly holding onto the idea that he's not kind, that he's hard not soft.
Though, the idea of leaving this world open in a way is...interesting. Not a thought he considered before, not a possibility he even entertained as possible. Being able to remember it all, that'd be...difficult.
Lucina bringing attention to the sleepy Pokémon snaps him out of his conflicted thoughts, his gaze focusing on them once more, rather than the unfocused distance stare that it was.]
Nah, I wasn't expectin' much today. Kinda a lazy day as it is, so ain't no problem.
[But his mind can't let go of the earlier topic so easily. He looks as conflicted as he feels, his eyes drifting to her again for a moment.]
...Does what happens here matter so much to you, that you really want to keep this and your world connected so you can remember it all?
[His voice is steady and carries a tone fitting the conflict of his features. If anything, it just goes to show how genuine the question is.]
Even all the crappy shit that flies? Y'think it's worth it?
no subject
Lucina shifts and moves over, guiding Salandit to settle in her hands before lifting him up to climb back onto Guzma, her expression still soft and her eyes somber.] I would be doing an unkindness to those who struggle...if I were to decide to forget my own. And I can't truly value the wonderful things I've known here if I didn't realize how much they shined compared to the dark times.
[she chances another glance up at him, her expression searching. there's an echo of past talk they'd had -- the more one-sided sort in the park. but he's the one asking and listening.]
Even you letting me be here right now...means a bit more because of where we started.
[it means both of them decided to look past the things about each other that rankle and take a chance with...very little idea of what to expect. even now, she doesn't, and it's why she holds her breath for a beat.]
no subject
[Guzma takes Salandit easily enough, even if the little guy seems less inclined to go, since Lucina's so nice!! and attentive!! and gave him nose boops..!! he acquiesces and slinks up Guzma's arms to curl around his broad shoulders once again. Not without staring lovingly at Lucina, maybe giving a little flirty curl of his tail at her.
Guzma's own eyes meet Lucina's as she looks him over, saying what she does...and maybe there's a weird warmth to his cheeks. Quickly he looks away once he realizes that.]
—Yeah, I guess so.
[Deflection, dodge, hide... it's just what he feels he has to do when he starts to feel a little too vulnerable. Something that seems to be happening a lot around Lucina, he finds. Yet, he doesn't always hate it. Not like he normally does.]
Don't it seem like it'd make things back home a little complicated, though? Well, maybe not for you.
[But for him...]
no subject
but he'd chucked the ball back in her court, so...]
...I suppose in a way. Maybe. [her brow furrows, thinking about it.] But...it would be something to hang onto. I wouldn't be the only Lucina of House Ylisse there, after all. And that little girl growing up there? She's the one who actually belongs there.
[she shrugs her shoulders, looking away, rocking back on her heels, hands folded behind her back.]
It'll be heartening to recall a place where my friends and I weren't the only ones displaced, I think. And know that there's many people out there who remember me fondly.
no subject
While Lucina's not an outcast because of societal reasons like him and his team, she's an outcast by...her circumstance, he guesses is the best way to put it. But even in this world, she didn't really belong, did she? None of them did, OTO was a direct response to the fact they shouldn't be here. An extreme response, but not far from his own in the face of everything back home.
Being pushed aside, failed, forgotten...and the encroaching of outsiders, changing what Alola refused to change, to make it easier for them to be part of their world, yet turning their backs on the ones already there. The ones they left behind...
The thought pisses him off, and it's made apparent by the fact that—well...Saladit disappears suddenly. Guzma doesn't react, not surprised by it, merely knowing he'll have to contact Tupp to get the Salandit back. A small inconvenience, really.]
I can see the appeal. [He finally answers.] Even if this ain't a world where any of us belong, what's the point of goin' to your own home when you ain't nothin' but a stranger there, right?
[His eyes flick to her, his brow knitting tightly together. Golisopod lets out a worried rumble as he looks at Guzma, sensing the tension from him.]
Maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad, in that case.
[It's either go back and make a place for himself, or stay here and make a place for himself. It didn't matter where he went, because like Lucina, in his own way, he didn't belong.]
no subject
he says staying wouldn't be so bad, but the lizard just disappeared.]
Um. Guzma-- [her eyes wince, flickering from his shoulder to his face before pointing.]
It...the, um. Little wyvern...?
no subject
...Oh. That happens when I—[Well, guess that solidifies what makes his nullifying powers work, huh?]—when I get pissed off, my nullifying powers happen.
For Pokémon it sends them back to their trainer. He's fine. I'll just pick him up when I visit the base.
no subject
[still. what a surprising and unpleasant echo of past events, right? if it activates when he's angry, then...]
I had no idea. [that explains why she could barely pick him up off the floor at Helix, too. huh.] But if that's the case-- [then he's angry now, right? why? what'd she do? besides...be kind of a mood-killer...]
Forgive me, I--I actually...didn't mean to bring up grim things from my home. It's not that I mind you knowing or not, only... [engh.] It's not...very enjoyable to hear about, is it?
no subject
He shakes her head when she starts to apologize. After all, it's better that he knows, right?]
It ain't you that's got me pissed, don't worry. You ain't done me no wrong here.
I'm glad y'told me.
[He turns and heads over to the couch, scooping Masquerain's sleeping lump of a form up into his arms as he takes a seat. Holding the snoozing bug in his lap as he looks to her.]
Just got me thinkin' about shit from home. I'm fine.
no subject
[he has ample advantage to dismiss her, but he just absolves her and settles in. she's left standing in a state of mixed feelings, her hands squeezing behind her back while she chews on the inside of her lip. she can sense eyes on her and can stand it only for so long before having to move, moving around tables or lumps of Pokemon in her way to sit down as well, her expression searching out sign that maybe she'd have been better off leaving.
but...if that were so, he'd say so, right? he's quite vocal about the things he dislikes, after all. unless their arrangement somehow stifled him. gods -- she hopes not, she has no idea how to discern nuances like that outside of a fight!
she fidgets, having to accommodate for Falchion still being at her hip a bit after-the-fact of sitting down, but it's something to do while she talks, so she'll take it.]
If you could remember this place in returning there, would you, then? Or would it be troublesome, like you said...
no subject
Even his grunts don't want to be around him when he's mad. It's chaotic and threatening, and even if his anger isn't at something in particularly, it strikes like a blind Arbok at anything within range.
Fortunately this isn't an extreme case of it, rather agitation than rage, but still.]
...I don't know.
[The answer is breathed out, a little strained. It's hard to answer that, because he knows it'll hurt her to tell her he'd rather forget, but he also isn't so certain that's true anymore.]
The gravity of this place has changed. [Mainly because of her, but others too.] But, at the same time, I ain't too sure how well my existence here would mix with my existence back home, y'know?
[How his relationship with Lusamine and his relationship with Lucina would be at odds. How his goals back home might repulse Lucina, might make her resent him...and maybe he feels guilty keeping that from her.
His expression darkens, tinged with what looks like guilt behind his dark eyes.]
I just ain't sure how good of a thing it'd be for me to remember.
[It'd be painful, he thinks.]
no subject
Well, so far...no one seems to really have a say in it. It'll be out of our hands until that changes. Which means that the life you have there...and the one you can make here? They can be as different or alike as you strive for, I think. Either way, I think...it's worth pursuing, regardless of outcome.
no subject
Quietly he nods.]
...Yeah. After all, who knows how long we got here, and even if all we get is a blip of something in the grand scheme of things...it's better than nothin', huh?
[He's looking at her, somewhat pointedly, as he says that.]
no subject
[after all, nothing is promised to stay. not the future, not even day to day! it's a mindset carefully taught by war and torment, but nurtured by the promise of better things -- especially when things can change so readily in a world like this.
sitting right there and then makes that more obvious to her. and, quietly, she thinks...well, rather hopes that she can see this man find something that does better for him, can get him to see himself something other than baddest of the bad, lowest of the low. mindset changes so much, after all.
she glances at the sleeping bug in Guzma's arms, her expression warming a bit.]
It can be worthwhile for them, too. A new and fascinating world...
no subject
It seems like it's getting a little easier to curb it around Lucina, but maybe it's because the things she present aren't so inflammatory to his beliefs and values...at least as of late. There's a lot of changes that seem to be getting swung into motion, even if he abhors the idea of changing. The world needs to change, not him. Yet, it feels like things are starting to shift within him. Even if subtle and seemingly negligible. But even an avalanche can start from a single pebble being displaced.
Like Lucina, his gaze falls to Masquerain in his arms, the bug totally passed out at this point. There's a weird flutter in his chest as she talks about his Pokémon. It's one thing to consider something worthwhile for him, but she always has room for them too, in her considerations. It's something that really resonates with him, something he appreciates about her...]
...They don't hate it here, but the lack of Pokémon can't be great for them. I bet it gets pretty lonely.
[He worries that it is, anyway.]
no subject
they're practically people in their own right, after all...
making a thougtful sound, her hands fidget a little in her lap, holding off the want to reach over and pet at one of those wings at rest; she's really no good being idle.]
I hope that being around Archie's companions can help. But if there are other ways...I'd like to help.
[her expression crinkles a little, feeling a touch sheepish.]
You'd just have to translate for me, since...well...
no subject
That fidgeting doesn't go unnoticed, but it might as well be for all he doesn't comment on it.]
It does. They get on well enough. [He breathes out a huff.] Tupp's Salandit, too.
[But then he pauses for a moment. Translate for...
He offers her a glance, before gently lifting up Masquerain (who is not even remotely bothered by this) and offering him to Princess Fidget over here.]
Well, I figure you'll be around 'em enough that probably won't be needed, huh?
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