pawnstorm | ( open ) mid-autumn in gisela

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( open ) mid-autumn in gisela

Who: Anyone who wants to celebrate Mid Autumn Festival!
When: Roughly 11th September to 17th September.
Where: Gisela
What: A log for those who wish to use their tickets during Mid Autumn Festival! You can still use this log for visits outside of this week too (as a catch-all) but the script is for the festivities. Basically what you can do is hang out at the Inn, at Gisela, or check out the island's hot springs!
Rating: Probably PG only for if a lantern catches fire or something.

[Welcome to Gisela, the floating sky islands above Gresser! Known for its mystic scenery, hot springs, and the fact that you nearly died the one time you had a dungeon here, Gisela could be considered a popular vacation spot. Or at least it should be, because Vietnam invested good money into this inn.

Inn, you say? Yes, after the defeating the dungeon, Vietnam bought a business here, an inn near the hot springs, Dragon's Flight and Phoenix Dance. A normally quaint inn, it has transformed to offer more festivities. Staff will welcome you with elaborate fruit displays they will put in your room for you to admire (and eat). You may also like to sign up for mooncake making sessions, where you will be able to make mooncakes together with your friends and family! Share a moment with them, and then share the mooncake. Nice.

Lanterns are strung up, leading you out towards the gardens. The inn itself doesn't have a lot of space for A GREAT FESTIVAL, but on certain nights, there will be lion dancing and a few stalls opened up to sell souvenirs, all handcrafted thanks to Vietnam's instruction. Now, lion dancing usually consist of two or more people under a lion costume, however, some generous NPCs have lent them some tame magical lion beasts that look similar to the Asian mythological kind. However, Vietnam and Kija also found a pretty wild one that seems to be stuck eating some lion snacks, because they tried to wrangle it and before they could run, they were forced to commit. Kija named it Jae-ha.

Go further, and it seems like the hot springs that Vietnam has permission to use have also a bit of decoration themselves, with something heat and water proof, that is.

Should you just want to spend your time looking at the moon, darker, quieter areas of the gardens will let you do just that. Sit down and relax, of course.

If you don't really care about any of this at all, perhaps you'd just want to go sightseeing in Gisela!

And basically do whatever you want in this place, really. RELAX, HERO.]

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Their soul given physical form, created by the strength of will...

[ A person's soul, crystalized by overwhelming emotions and turned into something so hauntingly beautiful. Lux stilled, the thought of that making her blood run a bit cold. And they simply handed something like this over without a second thought..?

Suddenly she wasn't entirely sure that she liked that idea. Their soul should be laid to rest, not freely given to someone else to do with... whatever it was that was done with them.

And that made her wonder as well; was this simply a peculiarity of those born to this world, or could one of them, if they were left to succumb to their own inner turmoil...

She didn't want to think about that.

Hearing his explanation, it all began to make sense. Why his conviction was so strong, how he could speak with such purpose, with a tone of expertise. ]

Innocence, right?

[ Like the cloak and mask he gave her, that he tried to recreate in this world. Yet instead of using this power to fight to protect, these dungeon masters used it to destroy, to tear everything asunder, a prisoner to their emotions.

He spoke of being glad that he was here, that he could help those tortured souls find peace. Then... ]

Does something like this happen in your world as well, then? A soul becoming corrupted by its own anger and anguish?

[ A soul becoming corrupted from its own anger and anguish...

He smiles a little at that and sits back again, letting his hands fold in his lap. ]

Aa... [ It's a gentle, almost wistful tone. Bittersweet. ]

In my world, that's what an akuma is.

[ Akuma.

Suddenly it made much more sense, why he fought the way that he did at the Carnaval. All this time, he had been channeling into...

The purpose of an Exorcist. He felt it even here, didn't he? And his desire to change the dungeon masters' fates, not only was it born from a steadfast desire to prevent suffering, but because, somehow, the path he walked had followed him here as well.

It was almost hilariously ironic. There was a time when she wanted what he had, desired to walk the same path. And when he said they already were, it seemed almost detached. But now... ]

Is there any way to save them? The akuma.

[ Yet she already knew the answer. If he fought the same way in his world that he did here, then—

"But you know, I don't think it has to be unkind. Even if it means having to destroy them... "

She was finally beginning to understand just what he had to endure. And it hurt, because, seeing it there, she began to realize...

Perhaps she didn't need to want after all. ]

[ Not detached. Simply said because by now it was so obvious it didn't need a lot of fanfare or great to-do. But realizing the path he walked before has been imported to be the same kind of one he walks here...

She would be right if she were to realize that's why he reacted as strongly as he had right before he'd said that. Why it was such an incredibly big deal to him and something not taken lightly.

But to her question, is there any way to save an akuma...

(The context of the dungeons and Heroes—)

He smiles gently. So very gently for something so very painful and yet something he's so very used to that it's deeply ingrained into his own soul. Marked straight through that curse on his left eye. ]

That's why an Exorcist exists.

[ It is the only way. ]

[ Why an Exorcist exists. Fighting akuma to protect others. That was the reality that she had stitched together from their previous conversations. That akuma were truly evil things, incapable of being saved, and yet, what he said...

That light of love that shined through his signature, gentle and strong, all-encompassing. It existed for them too, didn't it? So when she asked how to protect something that she had been taught to hate—this is what he saw, wasn't it?

Humans and akuma, and everything in-between.

But if this was why an Exorcist existed, if this was their purpose... then why did he smile like that? That painfully sad, distant and tragic thing that made her heart seize and hurt? The smile that he gave her when he wasn't telling the whole story, she had come to learn.

(What wasn't he saying?)

And normally, she would become insistent, pushing him to tell her why he smiled that way. But searching his face, trying to figure out why, she shifted forward again, a few inches closer before letting her hand rest on his, her eyes lowering as she smiled warmly. ]

Then I'm glad—

[ And drawing her gaze upward again, it warmed, her smile, catching in her eyes and radiating outward. ]

I'm glad that I could meet an Exorcist like you.

[ Oh—

Oh he seems a little sheepish finally at that, actually. Scratching at his cheek a little with his free hand. ]

Ah, I'm not the only one here...

[ And pausing briefly, Lux blinked a few times, her head gently tilting to the side. ]

You aren't?

[ Allen you never tell her anything, how rude. ]

[ It just never comes up!!! ]

Well, at least more recently... [ Ehe.. ]

[ Allen... Did he really think just leaving it there would actually get her to not ask? ]

Allen, that's wonderful! Who is it? I wonder if I know them!

[ Oh, well... ]

... [ Giving voice to that, that his comrades are well and truly here with him...

Perhaps that's why he hasn't really volunteered that kind of information before. ]

Lavi.. [ oh. he has to swallow for a moment.

this does make it very real, doesn't it? ]

...he's a kid about just about everything. Really, he can never take anything seriously when he needs to. But I think.. he knows better than most how to be there when someone needs a friend. [ Even if while they never speak of the Ark Allen knows there's something there that, perhaps, in Lavi's mind puts a time limit on that.

"I'm not your comrade."

But he'll fight the Bookman-Exorcist over that, too. ]

There's also Miranda, who's someone who never believes in herself and has no confidence... but she's saved my life and other's because of how kindhearted she is despite that.

Because of her, a lot of people can be thankful they're still who they are. And because she's older than us, I think she sees herself as responsible for us.

It's nice, even if she doesn't have to worry so much about that sort of thing.

And Lenalee— [ He pauses at that, head still tipped skyward as he presses his lips together.

Lenalee he's told her about a great deal actually. Just... not by name. ]

..I think you'd like her a lot.

Edited 2016-09-15 04:12 (UTC)

[ And as his says their names, describing each one almost lovingly, like they all mean the world to him, her eyes widen in mild disbelief. Not because of the kind words that he has for them but... ]

I know them. Lavi, and Lenalee.

[ Lavi, someone who had become something of a study partner, when they ran into each other in the library, who she could joke with on occasion. But who also took her to task on the plateau, questioning her ideals, the reason why she fought so fervently (" Come off it, Lux, you're not the only person that wants things to be different."). She still needed to apologize to him for that, but wasn't quite sure how...

And Lenalee, the somewhat unsure but still sweet and well-meaning Pawn who she met and spent the day with at Pigeonsblood. Someone who Lux very much wanted to help, yet wasn't quite sure why. She seemed so sad, angry at the world for bringing her here, something that spoke to Lux on such a fundamental level. ]

I see Lavi at the library all the time, and Lenalee, she lives just a few doors down from me! They're Exorcists?

[ The people that, when he said "welcome home," or "I'm home," he naturally thought of?

She couldn't help but laugh at that. How it was purely coincidence. ]

Allen, why didn't you tell me sooner?

Edited 2016-09-15 04:18 (UTC)

[ !!!

That's— ]

You know them? Really?

[ Blanc isn't that big and there are quite a few of them that are here as Heroes, but even still.. ]

I just didn't think— [ ah ]

It's just... it didn't seem to make that much of a difference. When all of us are here for the same reason.

[ Theoretically. ]

[ Lux heaved a sigh, a somewhat overly dramatic, chiding thing as she gave him quite the look. Allen, you may not be fidgeting this time, but did you know how much trouble you were in?

Honestly? Not a lot, but she could be prone to hyperbole at times.

But even still, he could have told her. That there were people who were so important to him here.

What was she going to do with him, really? ]

Allen.

[ She held her hand a bit more firmly over his. Please stop.

Calming a bit herself, her expression evened, until she looked more let down than vaguely offended. ]

It makes all the difference! Just because we've all been brought here for the same reason doesn't mean I wouldn't like to meet those people who you care about so much.

[ How could she be happy for him if he just kept these things to himself?

(...Or did that simply not matter to him? Her knowing the people who he cared so much about?)

Again, she sighed, putting on something of a tired smile. ]

You really are impossible sometimes, Allen.

[ Well he does look mildly... mollified at that.

Or chided. (And apologetic.) Enough at least that he won't protest, especially when she takes his hand so firmly. Lux isn't one prone to such gestures lightly, after all.

She wanted to meet the people important to him...? ]

I didn't— [ a pause ]

It's not like that...

You didn't..?

[ Because of course she was going to make him say it. He didn't think it was important. Did he realize how that sounded.

...Not that it should matter as much as it did to her, and yet, there she was, getting mildly up in arms about it. He had no reason to tell her.

And yet.

Releasing his hand and letting it retreat back to her own, she shook her head. Let it go, this wasn't a hill to die for. So instead she smiled at him. ]

I'm happy for you, that you can have a bit of home here as well.

[ No, he just didn't think.

But why does he feel like he did something wrong... even if she's smiling--

(Actually he'd rather if she was just outright mad at him.) ]

Lux. [ A pause.

It really is just that it didn't occur to him because he tends to space out on those things. And because... the relations he has with his comrades are a little complicated. ]

Because I'm so glad to have the chance to see them again it's easy to forget myself. But even if they're a part of my home that's here now and I didn't think-- [

And I didn't think I'd ever have that again-- ]

...and even if I didn't think I'd get to see them again for a long time and it means more than anything to me that I can, there are people and reasons I have for feeling that this place is like home as well. Which is something that I think would be a little hard for some of them, too. [ At least... Allen would feel a little guilty. Does feel a little guilty, but then he was hauling around a heavy feeling of guilt indeed over leaving them for months before he even came to Blanc.

But Lavi understanding that and wanting to stand beside him here too anyway had meant more than anything to him. ]

[ Which is why he'll turn to Lux then, smiling in a way that--it's a little painful, but it's also so terribly bright and glad too.

He'll not reach to take her hand as she'd already done that, but he will touch the back of it gently. Realizing ah...

...it was that important to you, Lux? ]

But I'm glad you get a chance to meet them now. The kind of person you are--

[ A cock of his head to the side, such a bright yet wrought sort of smile white-washed by how his hair forever catches the moonlight and gives it an ethereal look like his cloak once did. ]

I think you'll fit right in.

[ Angry? How could she be angry at him over something like this, over not thinking to share his happiness with her. Or, as he put it, forgetting. It even seemed silly to be as hurt as she was, for he always seemed to keep a few cards to himself, no matter how she tried to dredge them out of him. That was his way.

And yet, it did bother her a bit, as much as she would hate to admit.

(And all right, maybe she was a little mad, but more at how careless it felt, rather than the "secret" itself.) ]

You didn't think... what, exactly?

[ That she would care? That hurt, Allen.

Ah. Right, home. Something that, as he explained it, was so very important to all of them. It would be hard to simply accept being brought here suddenly, against their will and away from everything they knew and loved. Something that Lux fought with for months before the sudden realization that, perhaps, it was all right to exist in both places.

Something that Wukong only helped reinforce. ]

Does home have to be restricted to a single place? If you're surrounded by the people you care about and want to protect, doesn't that make it a bit like home as well? I may not be an expert on this sort of thing, I'm still figuring it out as well, but I think... home is somewhere that you can laugh and smile, with people and things that remind us what is really important.

It's as you said—even if something causes you to think differently about it, or somehow you find yourself unable to return, that doesn't make it any less home. It will always be something special. But something I've realized is that... it's all right to be able to make a home somewhere else as well, as long as it is filled with people you love, and things that make you happy.

And maybe, if you can show them that, this place will become somewhere that they might be happy to say "welcome home" in as well.

[ And a pause, as he decided to smooth things over, touching her hand and smiling the way that he always did. Her ire already slowly melting, that was enough to make it fall away completely.

She was a bit mad about that, actually. She really wanted to be mad at him, but somehow, as always, he made that impossible. Especially saying something like that... It was hardly fair. ]

I... I would?

[ Blinking a few times in startled surprise, she smiled somewhat sheepishly. ]

Do you think so?

[ That is indeed exactly what Allen believes--what he already told Lux as well--and it isn't that he's called that into question. But it would seem...

Ah..

...he doesn't want them to feel like he's abandoned them.

(Which in and of itself does, despite his beliefs, make him question and reaffirm that to himself. That he hasn't.) ]

Mn. [ Warm and certain. Hadn't he thought it before?

She would make a good Exorcist. ]

What defines an Exorcist is the strength of their own heart and how much they want to protect the people and ideals that are important to them. So much so that wherever we have each other is like home to us.

No matter what, more than anything, that belief is their most defining reason to be. Because of that, we aren't any different from anyone else.

Why wouldn't you then?

[ Why wouldn't you belong as much with incredible people like that as him. ]

Allen...

[ It was warm, this feeling. The feeling that she was connected to something, far more than the tie to her fellow heroes.

"You'd fit right in."

Kinship, belonging—something that she had been struggling to find since arriving here. And the thought that, together, something like that... that was his idea of home. And that somehow, in some way, she had become a part of that.

Ah...

He may never know how happy that made her. Having a place to call her own.

(I'm home.)

Laughing to hide the sheer awkward embarrassment that was beginning to gather on her face, she covered her mouth to give her a moment to compose herself, to hide how much his words truly threw her. Because really, Allen? You really weren't fair at. What could she say to that?

Letting her hand fall, she smiled sheepishly, still unsure of what to say. ]

I'm not sure if I'm strong enough yet, to be worthy of that kind of praise. But if you really do believe in me that much, then it must be true.

[ Thank you, for believing in me.

Ah, it was a bit warm suddenly, her ears and face feeling just a touch overheated; she didn't quite know how to take something like that, his words still turning over in her head. So instead, Lux did what she often did when placed in an uncertain situation:

She awkwardly changed the subject. ]

This may be a strange thing to ask, but... The cloak and mask you gave me. I can understand the purpose of the cloak, but the mask... It's beautiful, but why did you choose to synthesize it the way that you did?

Edited 2016-09-16 05:35 (UTC)

[ The mask? Oh...

Ah, that's right. Especially as he has no further sight here anymore, it's never really come up with anyone...

Blinking for a moment, he smiles a little in a way that doesn't really reach his eyes and points to his left eye then. The scar that jags across his face in too bright a red to be any normal sort of scarring of the flesh, especially with the pentagram it forms upon his brow.

Well, a pentagram that looks more like a star now (some small comfort there) from when it had evolved and filled in. And if one were to look closely they might notice his left eye is just a slightly darker shade of grey than the other. ]

Because I can't see with my left eye anymore.

[ Well, clarifying: ] Nothing other than normal sort of sight, at least.

[ although tbh he is pretty near-sighted in it......... ]

Before--

[ Ah... it's nothing he hides, in fact it's very common knowledge, but even still, as she knows he created the mask with the ability to see mana... ]

It's what would let me see the souls of akuma. [ also....

did she blush? ~~really?~~ ]

[ No, of course she wasn't blushing, it was just a trick of the moonlight. Really. You were seeing things, Allen. Or not. Chalk it up to near-sightedness.

Watching him gesture toward his scar, she seemed at first quite confused. Assuming that was something that he received during a fight with an akuma, she hadn't given it much thought outside of her initial observation. It was just a part of him (but to one extent, she never quite realized). The shade of his eye, however, went entirely unnoticed. What reason would she have to notice something like that? ]

You can't—

[ Let him finish, Lux.

He could see an akuma's soul, through his left eye? And drawing just a bit closer, rising to her knees to get a better look, she could finally notice it, the slight difference in color there in his left eye.

She wouldn't linger too close for very long, settling back down into a sitting position after a moment. ]

Was that a part of your Innocence as well?

[ Well about him receiving it during a fight with an akuma...

He gives a slight shake of his head though, sitting back a little when she does. Ah, well.. ]

Not part of that, no. I guess it's the opposite, actually. [ The Gate Keeper had reacted like it still bore a trace of Dark Matter in it...

Letting his hands fold in his lap he gets a gentle kind of smile--not a sad one, but one that's a little hard to read nonetheless. ]

It's because I was cursed.

[ Did he just say that like it was no big deal? ~~yeah no big~~ ]

Cursed?

[ She very nearly gave him a wry smile, because really, Allen? Cursed? If it were anyone else, she would think that they were being facetious.

But the way that he smiled, and knowing the sort of man he was, this wasn't something that he would joke about. Give her half answers, perhaps, but never joke. ]

Cursed by what?

( open ) mid-autumn in gisela

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in which Lux drinks the bitterest of teas [1/2]

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flips every table in the universe at

flips them right back at how dare

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you know what fuck it this icon works well enough

miss luxanna, really....

what did she say about using that name allen?

that it made her violent...?

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