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I was thinking either to keep in theme with the other two, or maybe there was something important about that age for her she had to revisit. A reckoning with her past, if you will.
Whether or not it's any of our business is another matter, but there you have it. Another age-defying anomaly in our midst.
[shakes in elysia being 50000]
Whether or not it's any of our business is another matter, but there you have it. Another age-defying anomaly in our midst.
[shakes in elysia being 50000]
[pvps you in the murder doc]
White men, such as yourself, are banned from entering my country. It has been the law for decades now.
[looks at him, holding his gaze for a moment like the problem here should be obvious. but, well, they've got so many people here with a variety of eye colors, regardless of their race. it's not as blatantly obvious here. not like mizu is used to.
sighs and settles a bit more into the cushions. richie should probably settle down, too, because he's about to get hit with so much internalized racism.]
... There were four white men in the country at the time I was born. Traders in opium, weapons and flesh. One of those men took my mother and impregnated her — with me. My very existence is considered monstrous in the eyes of men.
White men, such as yourself, are banned from entering my country. It has been the law for decades now.
[looks at him, holding his gaze for a moment like the problem here should be obvious. but, well, they've got so many people here with a variety of eye colors, regardless of their race. it's not as blatantly obvious here. not like mizu is used to.
sighs and settles a bit more into the cushions. richie should probably settle down, too, because he's about to get hit with so much internalized racism.]
... There were four white men in the country at the time I was born. Traders in opium, weapons and flesh. One of those men took my mother and impregnated her — with me. My very existence is considered monstrous in the eyes of men.
[Regrettably, they are at the bar at the same time.
Richie has arrived first. And, bewilderingly, ordered a rice wine for himself. His head turns when he hears the door open, but only offers Mizu half a smile and a nod, turning back to his drink in silence.]
Richie has arrived first. And, bewilderingly, ordered a rice wine for himself. His head turns when he hears the door open, but only offers Mizu half a smile and a nod, turning back to his drink in silence.]
Trying to. I fear they've learned how to swim.
Yourself?
Yourself?
[wowie! imagine being powerful enough to write an actual starter during memshare week. anyway, they are both stuck in the funhouse for the long haul while one of mizu's memories plays over the mirrors. at first quiet, then loud and chaotic — before ultimately ending in heartbreak.
the only reason mizu hasn't shattered the fuck out of the mirrors or richie's collarbones is because his presence hasn't been noticed yet. mizu stands as still as a statue, a white knuckled grip around the hilt of that very same sword pictured in the memory, and eyes dark while watching the memory come to its inevitable conclusion.]
the only reason mizu hasn't shattered the fuck out of the mirrors or richie's collarbones is because his presence hasn't been noticed yet. mizu stands as still as a statue, a white knuckled grip around the hilt of that very same sword pictured in the memory, and eyes dark while watching the memory come to its inevitable conclusion.]
[the way i opened this and immediately closed it because i did not know if i could handle watching it again.
Good thing for Richie's brittle bones that he hasn't been spotted yet. It's not like he's aiming to snoop. Even the first trip here put him off the place — it's like the cave, but worse. Much worse. When he's pitched into the maze by force and sees it's Mizu up head, when what he's watching slots into place, he goes so still he nearly stops breathing.
The figure, half bare beneath a blanket, should make sense to him, but doesn't. He registers a curve where there ought not to be. A quality to a voice so familiar it masked the obvious. The tender conversation sounds alien to him. Then, clothed and sexually dimorphic, it makes sense. Sharp, sudden, and obliterating. Just as the husband of the year comes to a callous shock a minute later, bested and then pinned beneath the woman he's promised himself to.
The woman, bandaged and loose-clothed, low voiced, only exposed when you exhume the tomb. There's been a case or nine or ten throughout history, hasn't there? Life was rough shit for women in most centuries, most countries, most anywhere. God forbid you were good at something a man was. God forbid you wanted anything more than homemaking, being paid for in dowries and traded like chattel. Worse when you were already marked as a bastard. You couldn't hide those blue eyes, but you could strap down your curves and carry yourself with a broad back, dress for the part and cut down whatever stood in your way.
Richie holds in the shadows. He doesn't dare come closer nor open his mouth. There couldn't be anything worse to walk in on, could there? Not for Mizu.
So, he does the sane thing. Touches a hand to the wall to guide himself, and slips out the opposite way.
From her vantage, there will be a shift in a reflected shadow on a mirror nearby. A blink and you'll miss it moment where his back is exposed, before he turns a corner and vanishes from all reflections.]
Good thing for Richie's brittle bones that he hasn't been spotted yet. It's not like he's aiming to snoop. Even the first trip here put him off the place — it's like the cave, but worse. Much worse. When he's pitched into the maze by force and sees it's Mizu up head, when what he's watching slots into place, he goes so still he nearly stops breathing.
The figure, half bare beneath a blanket, should make sense to him, but doesn't. He registers a curve where there ought not to be. A quality to a voice so familiar it masked the obvious. The tender conversation sounds alien to him. Then, clothed and sexually dimorphic, it makes sense. Sharp, sudden, and obliterating. Just as the husband of the year comes to a callous shock a minute later, bested and then pinned beneath the woman he's promised himself to.
The woman, bandaged and loose-clothed, low voiced, only exposed when you exhume the tomb. There's been a case or nine or ten throughout history, hasn't there? Life was rough shit for women in most centuries, most countries, most anywhere. God forbid you were good at something a man was. God forbid you wanted anything more than homemaking, being paid for in dowries and traded like chattel. Worse when you were already marked as a bastard. You couldn't hide those blue eyes, but you could strap down your curves and carry yourself with a broad back, dress for the part and cut down whatever stood in your way.
Richie holds in the shadows. He doesn't dare come closer nor open his mouth. There couldn't be anything worse to walk in on, could there? Not for Mizu.
So, he does the sane thing. Touches a hand to the wall to guide himself, and slips out the opposite way.
From her vantage, there will be a shift in a reflected shadow on a mirror nearby. A blink and you'll miss it moment where his back is exposed, before he turns a corner and vanishes from all reflections.]
Edited (clarity) 2025-03-04 05:25 (UTC)
...Yeah.
We split a bottle of this once. [Gestures to the rice wine.] It's nice, but I don't know that I'll finish it myself, if you wanted a cup.
We split a bottle of this once. [Gestures to the rice wine.] It's nice, but I don't know that I'll finish it myself, if you wanted a cup.
[BRING IT.
Richie meets that gaze. And suddenly, it clicks. Oh sure, on meeting him he'd thought "Oh that's unusual", looking into glassy blue eyes, and then moved on without a second thought. But genetics played more footloose and fancy free than you'd expect. You had biracial babies sprouting ginger hair when red genes ought to concede to champion heavyweights like black or brown. Sometimes you got amber eyes, or albinism, or any number of things in between. Taair had the colouring of a Scandinavian but the features and name of a South Asian noble. Not to mention Elysia's hair was cotton candy pink. An unexpected blue was not thing too shocking at home, and certainly easy to overlook here.
Mizu, on the other hand, is of a very tempestuous time and place. Richie's gut sinks as the details come in like whacks from a hammer. Decisive, hard, and damning. He's quiet in their wake. Lord, what could he even say?]
...Yeah. That sounds about right. [He lets his burning shoulder go, tentative, to right his glasses on his face.] We have...a long and storied history of being the worst thing to ever happen to a place. Any place. There's still fallout happening centuries after the fact. Maybe a lot of us have wised up but it's not the sort of thing you can smooth over with a bouquet of roses and an apology card.
[Hoo boy, could they get into it. Mizu you have no idea what all you've missed.
Except that's only half the problem. He purses his lips, chancing meeting his eyes. Icy blue. Barely a chance to disguise it, huh?]
Maybe it's pointless to say, but people have eased up about it. Being mixed race. Or any race for that matter. Sure you still got your bigoted assholes — there was a real piece of work in my hometown — but they're fewer and further between. Anybody with a lick of sense and half a heart knows a body's just a body. No matter the shape, size, or colour.
...Still. I'm sorry. [He sighs heavy, and lets his focus flick back to his own knees.] I can't imagine what it might have been like.
Richie meets that gaze. And suddenly, it clicks. Oh sure, on meeting him he'd thought "Oh that's unusual", looking into glassy blue eyes, and then moved on without a second thought. But genetics played more footloose and fancy free than you'd expect. You had biracial babies sprouting ginger hair when red genes ought to concede to champion heavyweights like black or brown. Sometimes you got amber eyes, or albinism, or any number of things in between. Taair had the colouring of a Scandinavian but the features and name of a South Asian noble. Not to mention Elysia's hair was cotton candy pink. An unexpected blue was not thing too shocking at home, and certainly easy to overlook here.
Mizu, on the other hand, is of a very tempestuous time and place. Richie's gut sinks as the details come in like whacks from a hammer. Decisive, hard, and damning. He's quiet in their wake. Lord, what could he even say?]
...Yeah. That sounds about right. [He lets his burning shoulder go, tentative, to right his glasses on his face.] We have...a long and storied history of being the worst thing to ever happen to a place. Any place. There's still fallout happening centuries after the fact. Maybe a lot of us have wised up but it's not the sort of thing you can smooth over with a bouquet of roses and an apology card.
[Hoo boy, could they get into it. Mizu you have no idea what all you've missed.
Except that's only half the problem. He purses his lips, chancing meeting his eyes. Icy blue. Barely a chance to disguise it, huh?]
Maybe it's pointless to say, but people have eased up about it. Being mixed race. Or any race for that matter. Sure you still got your bigoted assholes — there was a real piece of work in my hometown — but they're fewer and further between. Anybody with a lick of sense and half a heart knows a body's just a body. No matter the shape, size, or colour.
...Still. I'm sorry. [He sighs heavy, and lets his focus flick back to his own knees.] I can't imagine what it might have been like.
[just so you know, the name for this one on my memshare list is [bill wurtz voice] the biggest fumble in the history of japan 🥹
unfortunately for richie, his presence is not so easily missed. the memory has burned itself into mizu's mind with such detail, that even the slightest deviation on what is currently being reflected in the mirror is enough to catch her attention. something out of place. the reflection of a shadow that does not belong here.
for just a fraction of a second, her blood runs cold and she finds herself frozen in place. then that millisecond passes, and she's sprinting down the fucking maze, chasing him down like a bat out of hell. richie's dex stat was not enough to help him avoid getting kissed by claude just earlier today.
it's probably not enough to save him from getting throttled by mizu, who is absolutely going to throw him to the ground and pin him there if she catches up with him. run, white boy. run.]
unfortunately for richie, his presence is not so easily missed. the memory has burned itself into mizu's mind with such detail, that even the slightest deviation on what is currently being reflected in the mirror is enough to catch her attention. something out of place. the reflection of a shadow that does not belong here.
for just a fraction of a second, her blood runs cold and she finds herself frozen in place. then that millisecond passes, and she's sprinting down the fucking maze, chasing him down like a bat out of hell. richie's dex stat was not enough to help him avoid getting kissed by claude just earlier today.
it's probably not enough to save him from getting throttled by mizu, who is absolutely going to throw him to the ground and pin him there if she catches up with him. run, white boy. run.]
[THAT'S BECAUSE IT IS. And omg is she finally gonna kill him...uguu
No but he should have expected this. Really. There is no chance, no competition. The sudden clatter of feet sends his heart stuttering, and he has a half an inkling to run.
She's on him before his legs even kick in. Richie hits the ground with a sharp gasp (his glasses fling off and clack against a mirror) and hisses at the chokehold pin, body tense, arm jerked back to hit.
Then he blinks through the shock. Eyes on hers.
And simply puts his hand down to the side. He says nothing. Waiting.]
No but he should have expected this. Really. There is no chance, no competition. The sudden clatter of feet sends his heart stuttering, and he has a half an inkling to run.
She's on him before his legs even kick in. Richie hits the ground with a sharp gasp (his glasses fling off and clack against a mirror) and hisses at the chokehold pin, body tense, arm jerked back to hit.
Then he blinks through the shock. Eyes on hers.
And simply puts his hand down to the side. He says nothing. Waiting.]
[yeah! she's gonna kill him off schedule. the mods find out after she texts the npcs to pick up the corpse.
or maybe not? unfortunately, richie's gonna survive this encounter. but it might look like a near thing for a moment.
at some point between chasing him down and throwing him to the ground, mizu has procured a kitchen knife out of seemingly nowhere. a knife that she now holds to his throat — not with enough force to actually cut him, but certainly enough to be a threat.
resting all of her weight down on him, legs to both side of his hips and the other hand pressing down on his shoulder, mizu glares down at him.]
If you tell a single soul about what you just saw, I will kill you. Do you understand?
[unlike all the other times she's threatened him, this one does not sound like a joke.]
or maybe not? unfortunately, richie's gonna survive this encounter. but it might look like a near thing for a moment.
at some point between chasing him down and throwing him to the ground, mizu has procured a kitchen knife out of seemingly nowhere. a knife that she now holds to his throat — not with enough force to actually cut him, but certainly enough to be a threat.
resting all of her weight down on him, legs to both side of his hips and the other hand pressing down on his shoulder, mizu glares down at him.]
If you tell a single soul about what you just saw, I will kill you. Do you understand?
[unlike all the other times she's threatened him, this one does not sound like a joke.]
[It was his ghost memsharing the moon landing on the mingle
Let's not kid ourselves here, that knife threatens to cut through whatever line of thought he might be clinging to. Worse still are those eyes. He can take the irritation, the flare ups of her temper and her frustration.
This glare is sharper. This one's meant to spear him through his skull and into the floor. If looks could kill, baby this would be a nuclear bomb.
Richie barely breathes, but he scrapes enough air together for words. Low, straining under her weight and the murderous airs.]
...Why would I want to?
[That's not the problem here. It's his knowing at all. Mizu could care less about the logistics on his part.
His hand stays put on the ground, even if it flexes, redirecting the tension. He may wince under the scrape of the knife but he has to say his peace.]
You wouldn't want me to know. So I don't have to know. [He keeps his eyes steady on hers. Not fearful, but serious. Solemn as the grave.] It's none of my business, and I won't make it mine.
Let's not kid ourselves here, that knife threatens to cut through whatever line of thought he might be clinging to. Worse still are those eyes. He can take the irritation, the flare ups of her temper and her frustration.
This glare is sharper. This one's meant to spear him through his skull and into the floor. If looks could kill, baby this would be a nuclear bomb.
Richie barely breathes, but he scrapes enough air together for words. Low, straining under her weight and the murderous airs.]
...Why would I want to?
[That's not the problem here. It's his knowing at all. Mizu could care less about the logistics on his part.
His hand stays put on the ground, even if it flexes, redirecting the tension. He may wince under the scrape of the knife but he has to say his peace.]
You wouldn't want me to know. So I don't have to know. [He keeps his eyes steady on hers. Not fearful, but serious. Solemn as the grave.] It's none of my business, and I won't make it mine.
Edited 2025-03-06 17:39 (UTC)
A body's just a body, huh...?
[quietly. obviously mulling over those words, and for more reasons that richie could possibly know or understand right now.]
Sounds like a pretty lie. Though... perhaps not an impossible one, I suppose. At home, everyone knows my shame as plain as my face. Yet none of you seem to care, or even notice. [hmm.] This is a strange place.
[quietly. obviously mulling over those words, and for more reasons that richie could possibly know or understand right now.]
Sounds like a pretty lie. Though... perhaps not an impossible one, I suppose. At home, everyone knows my shame as plain as my face. Yet none of you seem to care, or even notice. [hmm.] This is a strange place.
[she narrows her eye at him, keeping the knife steady against his throat. good survival instincts right there, richie. the last man who got held at knifepoint by mizu was not nearly as cooperative.
the logistics truly do not matter here. only the fact that he knows. unfortunately, despite the fact that there are other girls here who obviously have been living their best lives, knowing that woman have rights in another world or in the distant future does not erase 20 whole ass years of being traumatized by the circumstances of your own fucking birth. being told that the bad men will get you was not a threat, but a promise.]
Do you swear it?
the logistics truly do not matter here. only the fact that he knows. unfortunately, despite the fact that there are other girls here who obviously have been living their best lives, knowing that woman have rights in another world or in the distant future does not erase 20 whole ass years of being traumatized by the circumstances of your own fucking birth. being told that the bad men will get you was not a threat, but a promise.]
Do you swear it?
[That's about what he expects.
Richie almost makes to nod. The kiss of the blade keeps him from committing though, so.]
I do.
[He could say more but he doesn't believe it'd work in his favour. So, for once, he shuts the fuck up.]
Richie almost makes to nod. The kiss of the blade keeps him from committing though, so.]
I do.
[He could say more but he doesn't believe it'd work in his favour. So, for once, he shuts the fuck up.]
It just might.
[He'll grab him a cup and pour one up. Hands it to him with a dim sort of grace, the smile half-hearted.]
I won't pretend I knew either girl especially well. But I liked them. They were both sharp. Kind too, when the time called for it.
[Thinking about the brutality of the case makes him doubt it some. Even with some kind of possession, it was an especially brutal one.]
[He'll grab him a cup and pour one up. Hands it to him with a dim sort of grace, the smile half-hearted.]
I won't pretend I knew either girl especially well. But I liked them. They were both sharp. Kind too, when the time called for it.
[Thinking about the brutality of the case makes him doubt it some. Even with some kind of possession, it was an especially brutal one.]
[she stares at him for a moment longer, as if searching for any hint of a lie.
then the moment passes and she lets out a sharp exhale. pulls back and tucks the knife away somewhere under her cloak, out of sight and far, far away from his throat.]
... Fine.
[she'll get off him now, rising to her feet and shooting a glance at where his glasses fell earlier. but she doesn't offer him a hand up, like an asshole.]
then the moment passes and she lets out a sharp exhale. pulls back and tucks the knife away somewhere under her cloak, out of sight and far, far away from his throat.]
... Fine.
[she'll get off him now, rising to her feet and shooting a glance at where his glasses fell earlier. but she doesn't offer him a hand up, like an asshole.]
[sliding into the seat next to him, accepting the cup with a nod of gratitude.]
They were not unpleasant company. [never mind that one of them was mizu's roomie, but it's fine.] There are many who will miss them.
[neve girlbossed too close to the sun...]
They were not unpleasant company. [never mind that one of them was mizu's roomie, but it's fine.] There are many who will miss them.
[neve girlbossed too close to the sun...]
[He won't lie, the pause has him nervous. Not that he believes Mizu is that callous, but rather that she might be that afraid. That she might think of his ever flapping mouth and decide the risk is too great to bear, and do away with him.
Then she rolls off and nothing more comes of it.
Richie takes a moment on the ground. No hand up, fine, he wouldn't expect it on a good day. Much less what's competing to be the worst day of his life. He comes to his knees and looks around, spying his glasses round the way of Mizu's glance. He fishes them over and puts them on before rising in full, dusting off his slacks.
There's a pensive tension drawing his features lean as he looks at her. Several sentiments dance at the tip of his tongue. I understand. I'll never understand. You deserved better.
You're no monster.
It would paint an ugly swatch over whatever fragile peace they've brokered. He can't think of a single thing to say that would come off congenial. The mood is all gun powder and lit matches, there would be a blowout if he tried.
So, for the time being, Richie just nods. Curt, succinct, over and done with. He doesn't like leaving her like that, but he'll do it.
Except as he turns to go, the mirrors light up around them. Two young boys, laughing at their own jokes. Then one pulls out his father's pistol.
Richie freezes. Back to Mizu, head turned. Transfixed. Eyes wide and face paling.]
Then she rolls off and nothing more comes of it.
Richie takes a moment on the ground. No hand up, fine, he wouldn't expect it on a good day. Much less what's competing to be the worst day of his life. He comes to his knees and looks around, spying his glasses round the way of Mizu's glance. He fishes them over and puts them on before rising in full, dusting off his slacks.
There's a pensive tension drawing his features lean as he looks at her. Several sentiments dance at the tip of his tongue. I understand. I'll never understand. You deserved better.
You're no monster.
It would paint an ugly swatch over whatever fragile peace they've brokered. He can't think of a single thing to say that would come off congenial. The mood is all gun powder and lit matches, there would be a blowout if he tried.
So, for the time being, Richie just nods. Curt, succinct, over and done with. He doesn't like leaving her like that, but he'll do it.
Except as he turns to go, the mirrors light up around them. Two young boys, laughing at their own jokes. Then one pulls out his father's pistol.
Richie freezes. Back to Mizu, head turned. Transfixed. Eyes wide and face paling.]
To be fair, it's also a place where guys have dog ears and Wis'adel has that thing floating behind her at all times. Hell, Koharu has wings. Easy to overlook anything more subtle than that.
[hello, richie... what a week, am i right?
it's probably a little later in the day by now, and they are... somewhere. probably the void. either way, despite their last 1-on-1 conversation, mizu apparently has no time to waste on awkwardness or anything of the like. she zeroes in on him as soon as she spots him.]
Your glasses. You used them.
[straight to the point? okay.
and i guess she's also looking him over to make sure he isn't mysteriously injured or anything like that.]
it's probably a little later in the day by now, and they are... somewhere. probably the void. either way, despite their last 1-on-1 conversation, mizu apparently has no time to waste on awkwardness or anything of the like. she zeroes in on him as soon as she spots him.]
Your glasses. You used them.
[straight to the point? okay.
and i guess she's also looking him over to make sure he isn't mysteriously injured or anything like that.]
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