Yep, old habits die hard, that's what everyone says! But hopefully your roommate doesn't make you feel like your feelings are nothing.
And hopefully he can help calm your anxieties a bit, too. Don't tell anyone this, but sometimes when I feel anxious, Jun-kun will sing me a lullaby until I feel better. That's the sort of thing partners are good for!
( Ugh. That sounds horrible. The image of Dabi singing him a lullaby earns a laugh out loud, though, despite the anxiety inducing feelings surrounding everything. He scrubs his face before he replies. )
No one has ever sung me a lullaby, and I'd hardly want it now.
I only have so much time left. In the end, my feelings are nothing. I don't care about that.
( Yes he does. )
I suppose I'm happy for you, though. It must be nice to have the support. Has he helped you through this? If I've made you grow a little closer, I deserve some credit, you know.
[Ugh, what a downer. Even though he could swear he felt something like amusement coming from Esikko just now.]
We were already close without your help, thanks! And I can tell you he doesn't see things that way.
[Jun was very mad when he first saw the state that Hiyori was in. Even though Hiyori did admit that he agreed to the whole feelings connection thing. Jun's never had a positive reaction to anything he told him about Esikko, come to think of it. In fact, when Hiyori told him that someone here witnessed a murder but couldn't say who did it, he was all, "You know that sounds hella suspicious, right?" As though Esikko-kun did it himself! Which, well—Hiyori can't blame him, since even he wouldn't believe someone could be such a misfortune magnet if he hadn't met Esikko for himself and heard (parts of) his tragic life story!
But anyway.]
But going back to what you said about "not having much time left" - are you sure about that? I mean, I know why you'd feel that way, since living with your illness is just awful. But this place can bring people back from the dead, according to you. And there are all sorts of people with healing magic here.
[What does that first thing mean? What does the second thing mean? What does any of this mean?]
I wasn't saying you should die and get revived.
[But, well. Maybe the clinic could heal him somehow? Even though Hiyori would not want to trust the medical staff here himself...]
What about your wish? I'm still not convinced that whole thing isn't a scam, but you are playing that 52 game, right? And you don't seem too keen on using your wish to go home. Maybe you can ask them to cure you!
[He means he was cursed by God metaphorically... right?]
Well, you *do* seem pretty cursed here, so I guess not.
But you also sound like you have a plan. So, that's good. Do whatever you need to do, I guess.
[Then, after a pause:]
By the way, I have a question about this connection thing! Did you ever figure out how compatible our souls are? You must have an answer by now, right?
It's not quantifiable, but... If we were incompatible, the link wouldn't have worked so well at all. For it to last this long, too, has implications of similarities at some level.
( Haha. So Hiyori doesn't want to admit he's like him, huh? Esikko can't even blame him for that. But he is annoyed, anyway. )
Are you so sure about that? Well, but the magic doesn't spell it out for me, so perhaps you should sit down and think about it for a while if you're so curious.
Pretty much! We're both nobles and we both like flowers, but otherwise we seem like polar opposites.
✨☀️✨😊✨💚✨🎶✨🌻✨
^ My personality is like that, but yours isn't the same at all! You're more of a 😔, 🌫️ and 🌦️ type!
And then instead of a sunflower, you'd probably be something like a rose with a thorn on a stem. I guess I might be rose-like in some ways too, though. I *am* beautiful like one.
All the sparkles are literal, by the way. Recently I found out what my soul looked like. It was sparkly like that!
You're certainly not wrong that we're opposites in certain ways. I believe that's called a foil.
If we're choosing flowers, I'd much prefer to be loosestrife. However, I do enjoy them all in their own ways, so I'll take that, thorn and all, as a compliment.
Is that what you'd call it? Better foils than enemies, I guess!
Loosestrife, huh? That sounds nice. As long as you don't mean the purple kind. Then it's an invasive species!
And it was Weiss-chan who taught me how to bear my soul like that. She said it's called an Aura, but it sounds like the same thing as a soul. The good news is that when it's active, it can warm you right up like a blanket! Which is a wonderful help while I'm dealing with this emotional link thing! I can't always get it to work properly, though. She said you need to have a "calm mind" for it to work.
I do feel calm right now, though, so perhaps it'd be best just to show you. If you share it with someone else, it can warm them up, too! And we still have that "Hearts task" left to do, don't we? The one you were so keen on doing with me last time!
That's the thing, she said it's not magic! But she also said it can heal minor scrapes and bruises, which sounds an awful lot like magic if you ask me.
And great! I'll just pass our bird to Jun-kun and head over! Though I'm not quite sure where I'm headed to. Maybe we can meet at a bench somewhere? Unless there's somewhere specific you wanted to do this cuddling thing.
People may have their special little names for things, but magic is magic. This sounds like a type of it. Too many worlds equate "magic" with something unreal or fantasy-like, despite their own methods being based on the same concepts.
Anyway, let's meet in the gardens. There's a number of benches there.
Sounds like I'll just have to show you, and you can decide for yourself if it's magic!
And sure! Just make sure the bench is stationed far away from any suspicious-looking flowers, alright?
[He means the sex pollen ones. And with that, he's off!
He's not as prompt as he would be if he weren't fighting pain and exhaustion every step of the way. But he gets to the Cloud-Dwelling garden before too long, wearing one of the winter coats he and Jun found inside the flower maze back in April. Assuming Esikko's already there, he'll be checking the benches for him.]
( Luckily for Hiyori, Esikko knows exactly where flowers like that are, after his own gardening experiences. So, he sits on a bench that faces a nice view of the flowers, but from a respectable distance, near a nice little gazebo and water feature that he's currently watching. Eyes follow the trickling flows of water as he plucks at his own fingers and the strings that remain, including the one attached to Hiyori.
It's when he's close enough that he recognizes the string reacts differently to his plucks, shortening in distance. So, he glances over to him, stuck on that dramatic coat for just a moment before he pats the spot next to him. )
[The winter coat is the most abormal-looking thing about him. He's been wearing it around the resort, pale and drawn and shivering, while his fellow shoppers eyed him nervously and tried to move away from him, afraid that whatever he had going on was contagious. But he doesn't seem too terribly uncomfortable right now, approaching the bench with a smile.]
Yep. This seems like a good view.
[He doesn't feel miserable, either, Esikko will notice. His worries haven't all washed away but they've receded, his emotions calm. He sits next to Esikko on the bench and then gets right to business.]
So!
[He faces Esikko.]
As far as that Aura thing goes, I need to be touching you to share it anyway, so I guess you can go ahead and lean on me. I'm wearing this cushy winter coat, so it just makes sense! Your head will be nice and comfortable~♪ And that'll satisfy the whole string challenge thing, which is what you'd call a double-win in my book.
( Already, Esikko lets out a rather heavy sigh. For the most part, his emotions feel deadened somehow, in their link. Tired, muted, barely there— it's a coping mechanism. Hiyori, though, earns a little spike of annoyance before Esi listens and leans his head down to the side.
Well, the coat is fluffy and comfortable, at least. )
The more you make this sound like a business transaction, the less I like it. Just so you know.
( He doesn't know what he'd prefer, but he knows this is just awkward. )
You're awfully hard to please. This is me when I'm in a cuddly mood!
[Poor Esikko-kun. Hiyori's been too irritated with him to muster much sympathy in the past week or so, but now he can manage. Everything's always miserable in his life, and his emotions are dreary to match. But he has something like a partner here, so it's not always terrible, is it?
Maybe he can be taught to appreciate the little things. Like a lovely garden view, or sharing warmth with someone else. Hiyori lies his head on top of his, then reaches for Esikko's hand. Weiss took his hand when she shared her own warmth and taught him how to do this, so that's what he should do too, right?
"Think of something that will make you calm and happy." That's what she told him, and so that's what he does, recalling the same lullaby from Jun he used last time.]
♪~♪~♪
[He hums along to the memory softly, and after a moment his Aura activates. It manifests as a glow that envelopes him—the appearance depends on the person, apparently, and his is almost blindingly bright and sparkly. The brightest she'd ever seen, she said! That glow brings warmth along with it, starting from their joined hands, spreading from palms to fingertips and then traveling up their arms. It settles over their heads like a blanket. Hiyori opens his eyes.]
See? Like that! ♪
[That bright and dazzling glow fades away after a moment, but the warmth doesn't leave with it.]
( When the aura begins to form, Esikko finally slips out of that tired looking frown and into a small little smile. Maybe whoever taught Hiyori this said it wasn't magic, maybe they don't consider it such, but— he reaches his free hand out to run through the sparkles, useless in everything except gesture. Like pressing a hand through a ray of sunlight itself, and just as warming. )
This is most certainly magic...
( His voice is soft, though, fond, and he lets his hand rest back down, the other one still nestled easily in Hiyori's hold. )
To me, anyway. Magic varies from person to person, so it makes sense that any sort of projection you create would be unique like this. Hmm, what does it use... Does it take some energy? A little bit of stamina, perhaps?
[He watches that hand reach out to grasp the sparkles, just in time for them to fade. Between that and the comment about magic, he gets the sense that he's impressed him, and that's nice.]
That's what I thought! But if it is, that would mean I can do magic now, correct?
[And that thought sure is a doozy. Not that he dislikes it.
In response to the question about stamina,]
I'm not really sure! She did say it can drain, though. And that it drains faster when I'm sharing it with people. So maybe it does take stamina.
[He pauses, still leaning against Esikko, still basking in the newfound work. It doesn't completely drive away the bone-deep chill, but it feels like sweet relief every time, akin to coming indoors after being outside in the cold. And it feels like that for Esikko, too, doesn't it? He continues,]
I feel like it's also a matter of will, though. For example, just now I wanted to share my warmth with you, so I willed it into existence. Which is exactly what I've always wanted to do. Or it's who I want to be, rather: someone like the sun, who can drive away all the cold and darkness in the world.
( It's unusually soft, coming from Esikko, but his suit has been flaring up off and on, and his emotions are in knots. Knots of feelings that have always had the capability to show themselves, but have normally done so in far more unhinged manners. This resort is simultaneously a whole new expanse of worlds opened up to him, and a gilded cage.
Right now, there's this strange juxtaposition of sadness and relief that he can't explain. He doesn't know why it's coming here, with Hiyori, in response to some foreign magic that's nearly wholly useless. It's showy, it's... warm, and it's nice, and it's almost comforting. Useless...?
His heart aches with loneliness even as a small, genuine smile persists, his eyes closing from his own exhaustion. Like this, maybe he can pretend that he's with anyone that he wants to be trying to share warmth with him, with any of the backs he's been chasing for one reason or another. But Hiyori is one of those too, in a way— the false idea of a "friend" that doesn't quite seem right. Familiar, in a way, to one or two relationships from home, to people close to him physically, but only out of obligation.
He thinks that, maybe, he needs to start showing his own worth a little more, to make sure these scraps of company don't vanish completely. )
But your music at the beach was like that, too, you know. ( Kind, from him? His voice is barely above a whisper. ) It felt a little like magic. Not anything like when you speak.
( A light jab, all things considered, to offset the oddity of his kind words. )
The prince's voice sounds softer than usual. Hiyori glances at him, but mainly just sees the top of his head at this angle (blond roots included). Despite the connection, he can't quite grasp what Esikko's feeling. There's some underlying sadness somewhere in there, but at least he doesn't seem worried at the moment, and that's good. While they're like this, it'd be best if he could let his worries melt away.
It comes as a surprise when Esikko brings up the beach concert, the complimenting triggering a little burst of happiness and pride.]
So you were dazzled! ♪
[He sounds audibly pleased to go along with it.]
That just makes it sound like there's something wrong with the way I talk! But I do think songs are the universal language. They have the power to reach people's hearts, lift up their spirits, and speak to something inside themselves that they might not have known how to express. All that could be considered a kind of magic, I suppose. I know that's someone's motto...
[He thinks of "that" unit while staring down at his hand, examining his two remaining gold strings.]
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And hopefully he can help calm your anxieties a bit, too. Don't tell anyone this, but sometimes when I feel anxious, Jun-kun will sing me a lullaby until I feel better. That's the sort of thing partners are good for!
[He's just bragging now...]
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No one has ever sung me a lullaby, and I'd hardly want it now.
I only have so much time left. In the end, my feelings are nothing. I don't care about that.
( Yes he does. )
I suppose I'm happy for you, though. It must be nice to have the support. Has he helped you through this? If I've made you grow a little closer, I deserve some credit, you know.
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We were already close without your help, thanks! And I can tell you he doesn't see things that way.
[Jun was very mad when he first saw the state that Hiyori was in. Even though Hiyori did admit that he agreed to the whole feelings connection thing. Jun's never had a positive reaction to anything he told him about Esikko, come to think of it. In fact, when Hiyori told him that someone here witnessed a murder but couldn't say who did it, he was all, "You know that sounds hella suspicious, right?" As though Esikko-kun did it himself! Which, well—Hiyori can't blame him, since even he wouldn't believe someone could be such a misfortune magnet if he hadn't met Esikko for himself and heard (parts of) his tragic life story!
But anyway.]
But going back to what you said about "not having much time left" - are you sure about that? I mean, I know why you'd feel that way, since living with your illness is just awful. But this place can bring people back from the dead, according to you. And there are all sorts of people with healing magic here.
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My body can only take so much, and I've become well aware of its limits.
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I wasn't saying you should die and get revived.
[But, well. Maybe the clinic could heal him somehow? Even though Hiyori would not want to trust the medical staff here himself...]
What about your wish? I'm still not convinced that whole thing isn't a scam, but you are playing that 52 game, right? And you don't seem too keen on using your wish to go home. Maybe you can ask them to cure you!
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Do you think the House can stand against the gods cursing me? I'm not so certain. I'll carve my own way out, to wherever I do want to go.
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Well, you *do* seem pretty cursed here, so I guess not.
But you also sound like you have a plan. So, that's good. Do whatever you need to do, I guess.
[Then, after a pause:]
By the way, I have a question about this connection thing! Did you ever figure out how compatible our souls are? You must have an answer by now, right?
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It's not quantifiable, but... If we were incompatible, the link wouldn't have worked so well at all. For it to last this long, too, has implications of similarities at some level.
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[Keep telling yourself that, buddy.]
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Are you so sure about that? Well, but the magic doesn't spell it out for me, so perhaps you should sit down and think about it for a while if you're so curious.
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✨☀️✨😊✨💚✨🎶✨🌻✨
^ My personality is like that, but yours isn't the same at all! You're more of a 😔, 🌫️ and 🌦️ type!
And then instead of a sunflower, you'd probably be something like a rose with a thorn on a stem. I guess I might be rose-like in some ways too, though. I *am* beautiful like one.
All the sparkles are literal, by the way. Recently I found out what my soul looked like. It was sparkly like that!
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If we're choosing flowers, I'd much prefer to be loosestrife. However, I do enjoy them all in their own ways, so I'll take that, thorn and all, as a compliment.
Who is it that can see your soul in that way?
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Loosestrife, huh? That sounds nice. As long as you don't mean the purple kind. Then it's an invasive species!
And it was Weiss-chan who taught me how to bear my soul like that. She said it's called an Aura, but it sounds like the same thing as a soul. The good news is that when it's active, it can warm you right up like a blanket! Which is a wonderful help while I'm dealing with this emotional link thing! I can't always get it to work properly, though. She said you need to have a "calm mind" for it to work.
I do feel calm right now, though, so perhaps it'd be best just to show you. If you share it with someone else, it can warm them up, too! And we still have that "Hearts task" left to do, don't we? The one you were so keen on doing with me last time!
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You were able to learn some type of magic like that after just one meeting?
Well, I am curious about that, now. So. We should finish it up.
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That's the thing, she said it's not magic! But she also said it can heal minor scrapes and bruises, which sounds an awful lot like magic if you ask me.
And great! I'll just pass our bird to Jun-kun and head over! Though I'm not quite sure where I'm headed to. Maybe we can meet at a bench somewhere? Unless there's somewhere specific you wanted to do this cuddling thing.
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Anyway, let's meet in the gardens. There's a number of benches there.
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And sure! Just make sure the bench is stationed far away from any suspicious-looking flowers, alright?
[He means the sex pollen ones. And with that, he's off!
He's not as prompt as he would be if he weren't fighting pain and exhaustion every step of the way. But he gets to the Cloud-Dwelling garden before too long, wearing one of the winter coats he and Jun found inside the flower maze back in April. Assuming Esikko's already there, he'll be checking the benches for him.]
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It's when he's close enough that he recognizes the string reacts differently to his plucks, shortening in distance. So, he glances over to him, stuck on that dramatic coat for just a moment before he pats the spot next to him. )
This spot works, doesn't it?
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Yep. This seems like a good view.
[He doesn't feel miserable, either, Esikko will notice. His worries haven't all washed away but they've receded, his emotions calm. He sits next to Esikko on the bench and then gets right to business.]
So!
[He faces Esikko.]
As far as that Aura thing goes, I need to be touching you to share it anyway, so I guess you can go ahead and lean on me. I'm wearing this cushy winter coat, so it just makes sense! Your head will be nice and comfortable~♪ And that'll satisfy the whole string challenge thing, which is what you'd call a double-win in my book.
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Well, the coat is fluffy and comfortable, at least. )
The more you make this sound like a business transaction, the less I like it. Just so you know.
( He doesn't know what he'd prefer, but he knows this is just awkward. )
Alright, let's see it.
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[Poor Esikko-kun. Hiyori's been too irritated with him to muster much sympathy in the past week or so, but now he can manage. Everything's always miserable in his life, and his emotions are dreary to match. But he has something like a partner here, so it's not always terrible, is it?
Maybe he can be taught to appreciate the little things. Like a lovely garden view, or sharing warmth with someone else. Hiyori lies his head on top of his, then reaches for Esikko's hand. Weiss took his hand when she shared her own warmth and taught him how to do this, so that's what he should do too, right?
"Think of something that will make you calm and happy." That's what she told him, and so that's what he does, recalling the same lullaby from Jun he used last time.]
♪~♪~♪
[He hums along to the memory softly, and after a moment his Aura activates. It manifests as a glow that envelopes him—the appearance depends on the person, apparently, and his is almost blindingly bright and sparkly. The brightest she'd ever seen, she said! That glow brings warmth along with it, starting from their joined hands, spreading from palms to fingertips and then traveling up their arms. It settles over their heads like a blanket. Hiyori opens his eyes.]
See? Like that! ♪
[That bright and dazzling glow fades away after a moment, but the warmth doesn't leave with it.]
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This is most certainly magic...
( His voice is soft, though, fond, and he lets his hand rest back down, the other one still nestled easily in Hiyori's hold. )
To me, anyway. Magic varies from person to person, so it makes sense that any sort of projection you create would be unique like this. Hmm, what does it use... Does it take some energy? A little bit of stamina, perhaps?
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That's what I thought! But if it is, that would mean I can do magic now, correct?
[And that thought sure is a doozy. Not that he dislikes it.
In response to the question about stamina,]
I'm not really sure! She did say it can drain, though. And that it drains faster when I'm sharing it with people. So maybe it does take stamina.
[He pauses, still leaning against Esikko, still basking in the newfound work. It doesn't completely drive away the bone-deep chill, but it feels like sweet relief every time, akin to coming indoors after being outside in the cold. And it feels like that for Esikko, too, doesn't it? He continues,]
I feel like it's also a matter of will, though. For example, just now I wanted to share my warmth with you, so I willed it into existence. Which is exactly what I've always wanted to do. Or it's who I want to be, rather: someone like the sun, who can drive away all the cold and darkness in the world.
no subject
( It's unusually soft, coming from Esikko, but his suit has been flaring up off and on, and his emotions are in knots. Knots of feelings that have always had the capability to show themselves, but have normally done so in far more unhinged manners. This resort is simultaneously a whole new expanse of worlds opened up to him, and a gilded cage.
Right now, there's this strange juxtaposition of sadness and relief that he can't explain. He doesn't know why it's coming here, with Hiyori, in response to some foreign magic that's nearly wholly useless. It's showy, it's... warm, and it's nice, and it's almost comforting. Useless...?
His heart aches with loneliness even as a small, genuine smile persists, his eyes closing from his own exhaustion. Like this, maybe he can pretend that he's with anyone that he wants to be trying to share warmth with him, with any of the backs he's been chasing for one reason or another. But Hiyori is one of those too, in a way— the false idea of a "friend" that doesn't quite seem right. Familiar, in a way, to one or two relationships from home, to people close to him physically, but only out of obligation.
He thinks that, maybe, he needs to start showing his own worth a little more, to make sure these scraps of company don't vanish completely. )
But your music at the beach was like that, too, you know. ( Kind, from him? His voice is barely above a whisper. ) It felt a little like magic. Not anything like when you speak.
( A light jab, all things considered, to offset the oddity of his kind words. )
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The prince's voice sounds softer than usual. Hiyori glances at him, but mainly just sees the top of his head at this angle (blond roots included). Despite the connection, he can't quite grasp what Esikko's feeling. There's some underlying sadness somewhere in there, but at least he doesn't seem worried at the moment, and that's good. While they're like this, it'd be best if he could let his worries melt away.
It comes as a surprise when Esikko brings up the beach concert, the complimenting triggering a little burst of happiness and pride.]
So you were dazzled! ♪
[He sounds audibly pleased to go along with it.]
That just makes it sound like there's something wrong with the way I talk! But I do think songs are the universal language. They have the power to reach people's hearts, lift up their spirits, and speak to something inside themselves that they might not have known how to express. All that could be considered a kind of magic, I suppose. I know that's someone's motto...
[He thinks of "that" unit while staring down at his hand, examining his two remaining gold strings.]
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