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RULE UPDATE [8/3/2022]
Once again, pretty self-explanatory thread. Your character tells the next character a secret about themselves, they respond, and so the cycle continues with them.
RULES AND GUIDELINES:
- Keep NSFW to a minimum -- suggestions, implications, and innuendos are generally fine, but keep in mind that minors have access to this thread.
- Romantic interactions are allowed, but only between adult characters.
- Sensitive or gory interactions are also allowed, but must be put under a spoiler or blacked out.
- Remember to post IC! The IC button is on top of the field where you write your post, just switch it on and select the character you wish to use.
- There is a five sentence minimum in your response to the character above!
- As a general suggestion, not quite a rule, however, please try to match half the post of the person you are responding to.
- You may only post every three posts or three days after the last post, not three days after your own.
- Example: [You] [x] [x] [x] [You] or You [x] [x] [three days pass] [You]
- You may post a "claim" to avoid getting sniped, but please do not take too long on it!
- You will be pinged here with a reminder after twelve hours of an unfinished claim. After twenty-four hours of an unfinished claim, you can be skipped by the next person.
- You must prove that you have read the post that you have responded to. Your post must contain elements of the post above and/or the above character's information.
- Be kind to your fellow players, but know that in-character views are not their own out-of-character. Just because their character's rude to yours doesn't mean they themselves feel that way!
- Do not skip over users who have you blocked or who you have blocked. Wait for someone else to respond to them before posting.
- I supervise this thread as much as I can, but if you spot problems, please either DM or ping me.
Aries and J aren't strangers, but they're a far cry from being acquainted either. He’s gotten the impression from their fleeting interactions that she’s always a little stressed, jumpy maybe, which is part of why he feels so terrible about his screw up last time. He’s not proud that their first real contact started with him scaring the daylights out of her, so Aries had invited her out for a meal on him in an attempt to make it up. He’s glad he did, too. She looks even more sickly in person, with those rings under her eyes, he’d like to make sure she gets something healthy in her.
He’s realized pretty quick that she’s not big on small talk, so Aries isn’t taken off guard when the conversation begins to shift. He leans in, not too much, clasping his hands on top of the table between them. Eyes moving first to the ring as she reveals it, then to J’s face, to the tender way she looks at it. He’s quiet for a while, letting her tell the story without interruption, giving only a single nod when she eventually looks up at him, a long held-in sigh as his shoulders settle.
“Can I look at it? On your hand, don’t worry, I get you don’t wanna part with it.” Either way he peers at it closer. Aries probably wouldn't have noted it otherwise, hidden as it was. He doesn’t know much about J, much less her history, but… he can make a guess. It belonged to someone, and now she’s holding on to it. “...nothing wrong with hanging on to something like that. Y’know, it may not really be about the thing itself, but having something to keep of 'em… Remembering’ is tough sometimes, but it’s what you gotta do for them.” She didn’t ask for counseling, but he feels strange about leaving it there. “...been there a couple times myself. Not sure if it’s something you ever want to talk about- guess all I’m saying is, you know where I am if you do. Even if you don't, call me up for whatever, I'll make time.”
Aries sits back in his seat again, crossing his arms as J asks a question of her own. Maybe that got too vulnerable for her there. But she shared something personal, so it’s only fair if he does as well. He nods, scratching his beard idly. “Guess that leads right into it. Lost my dad- god, it was really a decade ago. He never had anything that seemed worth handing down, an' I was too angry at the time to care; but man if I don't regret it now. I would’ve taken anything if it meant somethin' I could hold in my hands. I’ve thought about something else to commemorate him. Getting one of the tattoos I remember him having, maybe, but when I think I never got the chance to ask what they meant to him…”
He forces a little chuckle, eyes flicking up to meet J’s again, embarrassed. “But it all kind of sucks either way, doesn’t it. I’m glad you have a piece of them to carry. Doesn’t matter one bit if other people don’t get it, you know what it means. You keep that close to your heart, alright? Dunno what kind of stuff you believe in, but with any luck, you get to return it someday.”
NP-
…but when it comes time for Aries to share a secret of his own without this new face baring their own soul first, he balks. Aries tugs his headband off, stretching it between his hands and looking down into his lap. “Secrets? Not a lot to say, I’m pretty much an open book.” Not true, but some things are just too private, or a bit too heavy for a silly game like this. A dry, forced laugh from him. “Could tell ya all about how I didn’t grow up in too good a way, but that’s just everyone nowadays, isn’t it?”
His easy smile fades, replaced by a furrowed brow. “Man, but there were some rough times, real dark spots. Dug my way out of it then, but there’s still days I feel like I’m right back at the bottom of that pit- more of ‘em, recently. I manage, always do, but it’s tough, everyone thinks I’ve got it all together right? Sometimes you just want someone to notice, to know. Guess that’s why I’m telling you… ah. I’ll be alright. Wish things had been different, but they weren’t- what do you do, right? Just don’t want anyone worrying, you know? Lotta people relyin’ on me, so…” He slaps both hands against his thighs with finality. The vulnerable moment is over. “...back to work, right?”
v Aries laughs a little awkwardly and rubs his neck. He wouldn't have dumped all this on a kid if he'd realized... "Nah, forget about it. Thinkin' too hard is kinda what I want to avoid days like that... hey, you in the market to learn how to build a chair? C'mon, I'll teach you."
Iowa felt that maybe she wasn't the best person to be telling this. It wasn't that the teen couldn't understand Aries's feelings. But Iowa was more worried that any advice or sympathy he gave would be brushed aside because of their size. But if anyone was going to take the short teen seriously, it was going to be Aries. He was such a kind person, and he definitely earned support. No matter how little Iowa could actually offer. She puffs out her cheeks, thinking about what exactly he wanted to say to the person she considered an older brother of sorts.
"Y...You don't gotta be feeling good all of the time, I think. Pretending like past things didn't happen isn't very healthy. That's what a doctor said to me once. S-So, if you feel like having a thinking day, I can make you cocoa and..." She trails off, wincing. Was that even what Aries was talking about?
@ NP:
Death mention TW
"I don't think I told anyone what happened to me after our fight with Marcus. I kinda messed up really bad..." Iowa shifts their shirt a bit, revealing a piece of the machinery attached to his chest, their core.
"I went overboard with my ice magic. I can't remember what happened to my heart. But I do know that I really shouldn't be alive right now. Y-You won't tell anyone, right?"
Of all the things to trade, secrets weren't one of the things that Solita had in mind. Cold blue eyes darted down to the core attached to Iowa's chest, her face stony and blank. Questions were racing through her mind, none of which she dared to speak aloud to them. Who was Marcus? How exactly had they gone overboard with their magic? What in the world led up to Iowa getting machinery attached to their chest?
Shifting her gaze to look Iowa in the eye, Solita sat back and casually crossed one leg over the other. She wasn't quite sure what Iowa wanted out of her when she told her that information. Nor did she know why she kept such a thing a secret. To Solita, it seemed not to be something to make such a huge deal out of. She supposed, however, that everyone dealt with everything much differently. Besides, who was to say that Solita knew exactly what she would do after all of that? She might have kept it a secret as well. She wasn't one to judge, necessarily, but she was certainly a quiet sort of curious about it.
"I wouldn't have anyone to tell even if I wanted to. So there's no need to worry about your secret getting out to anyone." Solita shrugged nonchalantly. Was she allowed to ask questions? Even without knowing if that was allowed, she did so regardless. "How exactly did you go overboard with it? I'd imagine it had to have been quite bad if you have... that now." She gestured a bit lamely at his core. "You don't have to answer that if it's a sensitive subject. Either way, you're lucky you're alive I would imagine."
She didn't know if she was being insensitive. If her curiosity came across as such, she'd not have a clue unless Iowa pointed it out. Raising a hand to tuck dark strands of hair behind her ear, she forced a flat smile. It was the least she could offer them if she had no words of comfort. She wasn't exactly the best qualified person to confess secrets to, at least not if someone was expecting a sympathetic response. Solita knew that more than anyone else. She just hoped Iowa didn't mind, or that they understood in the very least.
"I suppose it should have been a good learning experience for you, yes?" She raised an eyebrow at her, folding her hands on top of her lap. "I know what I'm saying is likely... unhelpful. If I can't say anything else, I do wish you the best going forward. I'll be sure not to tell anyone."
NP:
Solita's demeanor seemed more closed off than usual, the already barely flickering spark in her eyes completely gone. She held her arms crossed in front of her chest, and her dark blue eyes bore into the person seated across from her. Sharing secrets was never something she willingly went about doing. That was reserved for those close to her, which she didn't particularly have. This person couldn't possibly fill in that void for her, at least not in the way that she needed.
If there was anything good about this, it was that someone she barely knew wouldn't sugarcoat their words. Right? She didn't want them to lie.
Letting out a heavy sigh, she looked away from their watchful eyes. Looking at anything but their face. It seemed like centuries before she started speaking. "I... am beginning to hate the life I have." She paused, letting that sentence sink in before she continued. "I'm not quite sure what to do about it. It's not like I completely hate it. I suppose that was a bit strong of a word to use. I suppose I just want more. Maybe I'm selfish for wanting more, but I've been so... lonely. I'm surrounded by stone walls every day, and when I go out it's to buy groceries. Sometimes I'm allowed out on my own, but..." There was something melancholic in those dark eyes, a deep sadness that lasted for only a second before she fluttered her eyelids shut.
"I can't leave, though, because I have a purpose there. Caphriel, the man who took me in - he gave me a reason to stay. To live." She paused again, opening her eyes to look at the person listening. "And even if I did leave, he would find me. Carry me back. I fear for what he would do to me if that happened, and I don't want to betray him either. I guess I don't hate living there enough to leave, anyways. I'm just lonely. All I need is someone to talk to, someone I can call a friend. There's no one like that there. Not in that place, not for me. They all regard me as strange, anyways. I'm not looking for pity or sympathy, by any means. I suppose this whole thing is slightly my fault. But... it's something I needed to get off my chest, I guess."
Two introverts. It's a struggle.
Maribelle did not readily pick up -- or rather, she did not react to -- Solita's change in behavior, no matter how it dampened the atmosphere. Said atmosphere which was already soaking wet, like trudging through a swamp with the muddy water up to one's knees, surrounded by thick black trees devoid of leaves, not even a whisper of wind or a second of birdsong passing through the darkness. She had half a mind to compare it to Laojin as well. If then, she would have something obvious to compare to what the older woman confided in her.
She remained stone-faced through it all, though, partly refusing the temptation to look at her own life thus far. But, if this woman was afraid for what would happen, then...
It was like looking into a mirror. Maribelle hated mirrors. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand this woman, this creature writhing in misery and loneliness -- the reflection was too much, too murky, for her to want to hold onto. "If you're not going to leave, if you're going to just stay lonely, then why bother even complaining?" she uttered, "It's good you're only venting. I wouldn't know what to do about your situation -- nor do I care to do anything, I'm not going to bother with your liege because it's not within my power to." She had to point that out. Ultimately, she had to worry about her own lords -- they both had to. That was just survival. And Maribelle was certain she would stick with hers to the end, as much as she was certain Solita would as well, confined to that darkness. Maybe it would last forever for them both. Maybe it wouldn't.
In the end, who cared?
..That question was too much, as well. The girl's lips tightened, and she continued simply, hushedly. "It's best not to think on these things. Be grateful for what he has given you." She eased away, reserved as ever, her arms crossed close to her chest, a pensive frown upon her visage. "You can play your music and relax in his chamber, and you can leave at your own will, because he dictates it so. Remember that."
@ NP: talk of homophobia . mainly internalized but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"I've never liked men." Maribelle confessed. She paused, before quickly adding, "I haven't for a long time, anyways, and I-- I know why. I know why I'm like this, and I know it's not good. My general and I, we've done all we can to fix it. We've burned my books, my journals, everything. My brain is tainted to where I cannot love correctly, he said."
The girl was quiet for a time. For a moment, it seemed she would not speak again at all, but eventually she spoke again, just as quickly and even more softly. "I think if I were born a man, I would be able to love women more freely. I would be allowed to, it would be expected of me. Maybe, too, everything would have been easier."
Even from where the knight stands dutifully near the door away from the bride's view, the sound of her armor clattering together is an indication enough of her flinch. The words are like a punch to the gut, enough to elicit a small, sharp exhale. It's not her place to express her dismay as a guard, and yet. It's hard to conceal the way it makes her stomach drop.
It wasn't as if this was unfamiliar to her either. The lives of nobles and royals tended to be messy ones, and it was a knight's place to keep the guard up, to be the stoic, stalwart protector she's been ordered to be. Even so, Illanya's heart aches at the bride's words, her posture loosening slightly. Illanya's expression is somber as she walks further into the room, closer to listen, stopping closer to the center when Bride turns to regard her. As often she finds herself speechless, unable to do anything except listen until the Bride is finished.
The question tears that ache further, though Illanya doubts it's remotely comparable to what she speaks of. Silent, her emerald gaze, tingling close to gold in the light flicks to the scenery beyond the Bride.
"I'm sorry." Is all she can get out at first. She's not at fault, no, but it still draws a heavy feeling to mind, into the air of this conversation. She genuinely feels sorrow, not entirely that the Bride is barren, but rather for what must've happened to cause it. There's anger there too. However, this moment seemed ill-suited for her empathetic anger towards the injustices of the past. It would do little to help now anyways. So instead, her glimmering eyes flick back to the bride and she bows her head a moment.
"I will not speak of what you have told me here to anyone else, my lady." Straightening, she grasps at something around her neck, "I swear it on my oaths and on my word." For as common as swears on someone's word may seem, there's a flicker from her hand and there's a sense of finality. Illanya pauses, her brow furrowing in thought, eyes shutting as she thinks for a moment.
"If I may be so bold..." She speaks slowly, as if drawing the words to mind is a slight struggle for her. Her eyes open, focusing on the other. "You are not a plot of land... You are a person deserving of respect. And I am sorry that they have treated you like you were less." Illanya knows she could say more, but it wasn't her place. Besides, her words wouldn't change what happened. What continues to happen, in times like these. The knight shakes her head, letting out a slow breath and straightening into a more formal position.
"I apologize, my emotions got the better of me, miss. I can take my leave if you wish. Or if there is anything you need, I can fetch it for you. I am here to assist."
NP:
Illanya's expression is tight, strained as she tugs her gloves off, unclipping each part of her armor methodically and setting it aside. her eyes flick to you and she smiles weakly.
"I am not well-liked among my comrades. Never have been, ever since I was a child. One could attribute it to how annoying I must be, eh?" She chuckles, though the sound is sad and she lowers her head. "I wish it was something as simple, as fixable as an unpleasant personality. But changing the circumstances of my birth? Hah. That's never changing."
With her armor gone, she rolls up her sleeves to show the golden markings that flow along her body, even going to far as to pull at her collar to show similar markings, and for a moment the same flickers across her face. With eyes gold she stares down at the markings, a conflicted look on her face.
"I was born a bastard child to my father and a woman I will never know. Such a thing is frowned upon, even for the knights. Yet, as the Mariold line, My father and uncle, haven't sired any more heirs, I am all they've got. The court resents me for it, believing that at the least to have an heir that wasn't born out of wedlock. Even worse, this is all I have of my mot- that woman." She gestures to the glowing marks. "A physical reminder that I am not like my peers. That I will always be just that to them, an obstacle and nuisance to be overcome."
Kuramoto merely looked down at the floor to comprehend what he just heard. He didn't know what to say or to do. He only sort of understood what it was like to be disliked by your peers, but never to this extent. If anything, he was practically liked by a lot of people and if there was someone who hated him well he'd ignore them.
"I'm sorry, I guess there isn't too much to do now is there, huh?" he scratched his arm nervously. "I really do feel bad, sorry I can't say anything more than that. But I do appreciate that you took the time to tell all of this to me and opened up about your feelings."
He paused looking at the gold markings on Illanya, "But what about those markings? Do they give you interesting powers or are they just fancy decoration?" Kuramoto attempted to lighten the mood a little, not wanting Illanya to feel too down.
____
Kuramoto bounced his leg nervously and tried to think about how to put his words down properly. He felt so ashamed of this secret that he had to tell someone. It was like a heavy boulder to his chest "My boyfriend still doesn’t know my old job... the job that sent me to kill him. I- I'm just not sure how to tell him or when to tell him. The worst part is that there's still a target on his back if he does transform into a god again. I feel really shitty for keeping all of this from him. But at the same time I'd feel the same if I did tell him, he'd live in a state of panick and I don't want that for him."
"The first step to any healthy relationship is honesty." said Lawrence. That aside, it wasn't like he was experienced in... you know, dealing with gods, and Christ, his own marriage was far from being built upon that complicated of a mess that Kuramoto's was. Still, he tried to do what he could, speaking as carefully as he could to the hydramimi, but even then he felt that he was not careful enough.
"..But, you are right to think of this as a... tricky situation." He tried to smile, but then immediately faltered and furrowed his brows in thought. "But, if you want advice, I think... later down the line, you should tell him. If he is in a fragile state as I would assume from how you speak to him, it-- it may be best to see him stabilized, but then again... it's not like being told your partner was originally meant to kill you is an easy thing to be told, either way." Then, Lawrence met Kuramoto's gaze. "But, I also feel as thought that, eventually, it will no longer haunt you. It will be real. You two might be in trouble, and seeing here how much you care for him... It's best to tell him yourself than to let anyone else get to him first."
Lawrence let out a long sigh. He wasn't expecting to play... what was this? Couple's counselor? Eugh. He made his point, though. Whether Kuramoto listened or not, that was up to him.
"Now... would you like a drink before you go? Tell me how your boyfriend likes his coffee, at least. My treat."
"..It seems I've been exposed." Lawrence sighed playfully. He closed the box in his hand -- one containing a box of assorted gifts -- wine, diamond earrings, and a suspiciously Yugioh-esque card bundle.
"I haven't many secrets, but I did want to surprise my husband. Just because -- there isn't any special occasion. Still, if you wouldn't mind keeping this quiet for me... I'm sure he would appreciate it, too."
"Oh, no," Noah replied, just bleeding with sarcasm, "if anyone found out, they could exploit your weakness to kill you. Like garlic to a vampire. They'll line the doors of your crypt with migraine triggers. Like... coffee. And red wine." He put the glass of water down before he even managed to get it all the way to Ren so that his hands were free to run over his face. Not his best work - maybe a tad too long without sleep. And maybe that also accounts for mouthing off to a creature like this when Noah should definitely know better. He did eventually get the water over, setting it down with too much force and not enough grace, thinking of a painkiller himself. Probably not one of Renard's though, god knows what would be in there.
Noah rolls up one of his sleeves by his wrist, revealing a fraction of the runic tattoos covering his arm - perhaps already a surprise, but more comes when he traces one of the tattoos, and the hand of that arm starts trembling. "I had hoped the tremor would go away, but it's been a couple years now." He sighs, clearly irritated, but continues, "It at least goes to show how impressive a good sigil can be. And how fragile the human body is."
"the human body is really weak to be honest" The man keeps looking at the tattoo "is this some kind of forbidden sigil or not?" he looks curious
---
TW: suicide attempt and blood
the man rubbed his neck "When I was young" his expression changed, a sad expression running down his face "You know when you are a kid all you think about is having fun and playing with your friends like kids this day" he chuckled, he did not even look at them in the eye.
"All I think that time is. death" the man paused a bit "I once tried to end my life at a young age because I can't handle the guilt. I once hurt someone back then for defending my little brother from them. I still remember my little brother's terrified face when he see me after I beat them up" he paused and took a sigh while running down hand on his neck "After the accident, my family moved to a different town. the guilt still hunts me until I'm at my limit" his eye look soulless "After I come to home early from school" he paused "I cut my throat in the bathtub and the water is running. all I remember after I do that is I feel peace"
"my dad rushed me to the hospital not long after I cut my self" he looks guilty "I'm fine now...."
Merlin, upon hearing the story, outstretched a consoling hand to the teacher's shoulder, "You're damn strong, I'll tell you that. I’m glad your father got you the help you needed. He wanted you to live.” For a moment, Merlin pauses to think. “You know, I understand. Your little brother must've been terrified seeing that side of you." He retracts his hand back to gesture with his speech.
"The last thing you want to do is let your loved ones be scared of you. But in the end, I think you did the right thing for your little brother back then. If fighting is your only option to defend your brother, then you fight." The shotgunner made eye contact with Aric as much as he could, in order to establish the sincerity of his words. "Because if you aren't there for your brother anymore, then who would protect him?"
cw for violence
(using one of merlin's trivia points for this lol)
"Look, I don't have that many secrets to share, but this is the one that I don't really like to tell people about." The police officer pulls out a leather cigarette case from his jacket, opening it up and placing it on the table. There weren't any cigarettes inside, but there was a slightly aged photo inside. It depicted a group of approximately 20 people, all in military gear and posing next to a C-130 gunship. One of the individuals in the photo was a younger Merlin, without a single scar. On the bottom white margin of the photo, there were two signatures; one read 'Soju ~ Jekyll One' and the other 'Colt ~ Hyde One'.
Taking a deep sigh, Merlin begins to speak in a more gravely tone than usual. "That's me and all of my squad members when I was in the Marines. The Jekyll squad." He points to himself in the photo, before sweeping his finger around half of the people in the photo to highlight his squad. "And that..." His finger moves to one particular person, who had a scar running from the left corner of his mouth towards his left cheek. "... Is Colt. And his men, the Hyde squad." Once again, he moves his finger around the other half of individuals.
"All of those people you see are six feet under now, except for me. Most of their deaths were my fault; I wasn't looking out for them. When I was discharged from the Marines, I only had Colt left, but later on I had to kill him. I had to look him dead in the eye and kill him." He shamefully looks down at the picture, remorse written all over his face. Yet he wouldn’t elaborate further.