I'm not saying it's a bad thing... need a bit of light in all this dim. We've lost some bright stars and suns. Even a small campfire can bring warmth and solace in a cold night.
If that's what I can be, then... that's what I want to be. A Flame that might be able to bring people hope. So long as I'm here, I won't let it be extinguished.
[ ... ] That ... when we were gone, that's what we were told by the woman we rescued. "Hope is the thing that kills you, but it's the thing that keeps you alive." I think she's right.
Edited (the concept of hope as a woman is more than i feel like explaining at this time) 2024-07-02 16:25 (UTC)
Yes, she's... Karlach is really amazing, isn't she? [ ahh... ] I find myself looking to her so often. I want to be able to support her the way that she helps me, too.
I'm sure you can. She's not that hard to please. Have a good heart and listen... and make sure she's not pushing herself too hard to make everyone else happy.
[ A problem he's noticed with Ms. Acts Of Service over there. ]
I've noticed that, too... [ MS. ACTS OF SERVICE ] We're pretty alike sometimes.
[ fire coded but also big loving babies. karlach is everything rondo wants to be when he grows up. ] But - that's part of why it's nice to be around people like you, too, Mr. Daan. I feel like you help me stay grounded, and I can't ever thank you enough for it.
[ Considering that a moment, putting the book back down. ]
Beats me why or how that'd happen. Because I'm a doctor?... I'm really nothing special, you know. Not really someone to rely on outside of stitching you back up or whatever else in that realm.
[ there's a small smile, and he meets daan's gaze. ]
For me... you remind me a lot of my old captain, before I was working with Sir Sazantos. You're wise and levelheaded, and kind, and mature. You're the kind of person that thinks things through, which...is something I'm not. [ rondo YOU'RE WIDE OPEN ravus ] And... I think a lot about - when Miss Erin was transforming, when your first instinct was to try to calm her down, instead of to try and immediately take her out, or even to try and run away from it.
I think that says a lot about you, whether you're a combatant or not.
You're only saying that because you're 21. Anyway... you're giving me too much credit. I'm not that wise about anything.
[ You'll be an old old 28 year old one day too... He will take levelheaded though. He could split hairs that maybe in part it's less being calm and more just being jaded about a lot of things, but that's a whole another thing. ]
... It wasn't anything altruistic or anything. I know that in a fight against a monster, I'm likely to lose than not.
But she seemed... sane, still. Like you could still reach her if you tried.
I guess a part of me kind of just hoped that'd be the case, after Prehevil.
Sir Iwatooshi was over a thousand, and I bet he would've said the same thing.
[ then again iwatooshi and rondo are the same (dog)(excited) so is that necessarily proving his point. probably not.
but that's just a little aside, and he lets it go after that. it wasn't anything altruistic - he said the same thing about cutting off his own arm, and the feeling is still the same. that it might not have been altruistic, but it was brave. and bravery means something.
and the idea that you could still reach erin rings true with him, too. (it's staring down sazantos, desperately hoping that it was all a nightmare - that maybe with the right words, with the right determination, he could bring him back. that wasn't the case, but... not everyone would have thought the same way about that, either.)
rondo is quiet, for a moment, thinking about that same memory. about the one he shared with marina, too. ]
...Jeez. Have you not heard? Really lost track of who learned about it and who didn't. Not that it's exactly something I'm just telling everyone unprompted...
It's the place I was in right before I showed up here. Backwaters capital of Bohemia. Was stopping by to look for something... ended up getting roped up into some kind of "Festival of Termina".
Three days to be the sole survivor out of the fourteen of us, or... dying would probably be the generous alternative.
Oh! Right. Right, the festival. I don't remember if you called it that name, is all.
[ or he did and forgot. or i forgot. thankfully rondo has the attention span of a pea so you know its just ic.
... ]
Were... you ever able to get through to anyone? I know... [ after a long moment, quietly: ] I know that the... person's conscience was still there. Or... could be, at least.
[ He opens his mouth as if to respond, and it's about to be a dour no -- and then he thinks about them again. He saw it play out right in front of his own eye with the Giant, his reaction to his own name being called. The violence was too overwhelming with the Judgement, the madman's ramble that vaguely resembled the man he once was. And Karin Sauer... His attempt was bare at best, and he didn't even stay to find out. ]
I don't know. Didn't exactly have the bandwidth to stick around and find out with any of them.
Once they scorched, the violence took precedence over anything else.
he's quiet for a second, but... reaches out, and sets his hand over daan's and gives it a little squeeze, then withdraws it, expression soft and supportive, and... sad, too. ]
...a reflection of our current experience. [ POOR DAAN. what a game you picked for fungers. what a game. ]
That... that here, you still had - have the hope that you could reach Miss Erin. That's the kind of thing that's worth admiring. That's the kind of person I want to stand by the side of.
[ I think it's funny how I've fully accidentally kinned the game concept for 3/4 summer games. He draws his hand back the moment Rondo withdraws his own, looking at him with an unreadable but steely gaze. ]
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I'm not saying it's a bad thing... need a bit of light in all this dim. We've lost some bright stars and suns. Even a small campfire can bring warmth and solace in a cold night.
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If that's what I can be, then... that's what I want to be. A Flame that might be able to bring people hope. So long as I'm here, I won't let it be extinguished.
[ ... ] That ... when we were gone, that's what we were told by the woman we rescued. "Hope is the thing that kills you, but it's the thing that keeps you alive." I think she's right.
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It's a pretty heavy weight for Karlach alone, but it's a bit better with the both of you still.
[ The other fire. ]
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Yes, she's... Karlach is really amazing, isn't she? [ ahh... ] I find myself looking to her so often. I want to be able to support her the way that she helps me, too.
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[ A problem he's noticed with Ms. Acts Of Service over there. ]
Feels like things you inherently do already.
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[ fire coded but also big loving babies. karlach is everything rondo wants to be when he grows up. ] But - that's part of why it's nice to be around people like you, too, Mr. Daan. I feel like you help me stay grounded, and I can't ever thank you enough for it.
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...
Pragmatists, the natural enemy of optimists in most cases. Not that I'm actively trying to bring anyone down...
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I wouldn't say enemy. I'd say balance.
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[ And the framing of things, the most subtle shift of the tide. ]
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Fair enough! [ framing, indeed. ] I don't think you bring anyone down. In fact, it's kind of the opposite. A lot of us really rely on you, Mr. Daan.
...Especially now, after this last weekend. [ our devastated cabin ]
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Beats me why or how that'd happen. Because I'm a doctor?... I'm really nothing special, you know. Not really someone to rely on outside of stitching you back up or whatever else in that realm.
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[ there's a small smile, and he meets daan's gaze. ]
For me... you remind me a lot of my old captain, before I was working with Sir Sazantos. You're wise and levelheaded, and kind, and mature. You're the kind of person that thinks things through, which...is something I'm not. [ rondo YOU'RE WIDE OPEN ravus ] And... I think a lot about - when Miss Erin was transforming, when your first instinct was to try to calm her down, instead of to try and immediately take her out, or even to try and run away from it.
I think that says a lot about you, whether you're a combatant or not.
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[ You'll be an old old 28 year old one day too... He will take levelheaded though. He could split hairs that maybe in part it's less being calm and more just being jaded about a lot of things, but that's a whole another thing. ]
... It wasn't anything altruistic or anything. I know that in a fight against a monster, I'm likely to lose than not.
But she seemed... sane, still. Like you could still reach her if you tried.
I guess a part of me kind of just hoped that'd be the case, after Prehevil.
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[ then again iwatooshi and rondo are the same (dog)(excited) so is that necessarily proving his point. probably not.
but that's just a little aside, and he lets it go after that. it wasn't anything altruistic - he said the same thing about cutting off his own arm, and the feeling is still the same. that it might not have been altruistic, but it was brave. and bravery means something.
and the idea that you could still reach erin rings true with him, too. (it's staring down sazantos, desperately hoping that it was all a nightmare - that maybe with the right words, with the right determination, he could bring him back. that wasn't the case, but... not everyone would have thought the same way about that, either.)
rondo is quiet, for a moment, thinking about that same memory. about the one he shared with marina, too. ]
...Prehevil? [ asked gently. ]
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It's the place I was in right before I showed up here. Backwaters capital of Bohemia. Was stopping by to look for something... ended up getting roped up into some kind of "Festival of Termina".
Three days to be the sole survivor out of the fourteen of us, or... dying would probably be the generous alternative.
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[ or he did and forgot. or i forgot. thankfully rondo has the attention span of a pea so you know its just ic.
... ]
Were... you ever able to get through to anyone? I know... [ after a long moment, quietly: ] I know that the... person's conscience was still there. Or... could be, at least.
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[ He opens his mouth as if to respond, and it's about to be a dour no -- and then he thinks about them again. He saw it play out right in front of his own eye with the Giant, his reaction to his own name being called. The violence was too overwhelming with the Judgement, the madman's ramble that vaguely resembled the man he once was. And Karin Sauer... His attempt was bare at best, and he didn't even stay to find out. ]
I don't know. Didn't exactly have the bandwidth to stick around and find out with any of them.
Once they scorched, the violence took precedence over anything else.
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he's quiet for a second, but... reaches out, and sets his hand over daan's and gives it a little squeeze, then withdraws it, expression soft and supportive, and... sad, too. ]
...a reflection of our current experience. [ POOR DAAN. what a game you picked for fungers. what a game. ]
That... that here, you still had - have the hope that you could reach Miss Erin. That's the kind of thing that's worth admiring. That's the kind of person I want to stand by the side of.
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I'm serious. It's nothing to praise.
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but... oh. he does falter a little at that, though only a little - confusion flickers clearly across his face before he nods. ]
... Alright. [ well he'll continue to do it anyway in private that sign can't stop him because he can't read etc ] If you say so, Mr. Daan.
[ deflates.... ]
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And Daan is fine.
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closes mouth ]
I. Okay... M... [ shakes ] .... Daan.
[ this feels like breaking the rules ]
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[ Forces him to be alpha. ]
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I'm confident!! It's just! You're the same age as Sir Sazantos and I respect you!!
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