asgardmeridiem | [OPEN LOG]

Entry tags:

[OPEN LOG]

Who: Jade + literally anyone
What: Jade bribing people into her restaurant with free things.
When: Day 355.
Where: The Highwind, in Heimdall's district.
Rating: PG-13 for language at most!

EDITED TO ADD: Also, totally feel free to threadjack and use this as a mingle log IF YOU WOULD LIKE ♥

[ It had worked once before, back in the heat of late summer in Asgard, so Jade was trying it again. She had dragged the sign out to the front of the store, right in the middle of the sidewalk, and written in huge letters:

free hot chocolate! :D
just come inside ♥

The temperature hadn't broken the sixty degree mark today - it was getting chilly fast. Both Orihime and Annabeth were gone, and the store was oddly quiet. Jade will be found keeping herself busy throughout the day with odd little chores when it's completely empty of customers - sweeping, dusting, and occasionally dozing in a booth near the door when the boredom becomes too much to bear. ]

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[Some people just need others around to help them out, sometimes. (Ugh, that time in general.)]

[She'd been just about to add her, 'I know, but--' when that last part happens and it rather effectively distracts her. Her lips press together slightly.]

... That depends. If I have work, then I go to work.

[But otherwise... well, there are implications.]

I don't have very many really bad days. Not like-- [She used to.] ... Some people.

[Tap tap. She took a sip from her mug. The two of them, for as short a time as they'd known each other, had a habit of catching each other in an off moment or two. At the very least, she was fairly certain that Naminé was... well, safe.]

But we have them, even if they're rare, and sometimes just going to work isn't good enough. [She sighed, poking a marshmallow.] You're allowed to ring my doorbell if you have one of those days. I'd rather you not be alone.

[Timing is everything, as they say.]

[Her eyes lower, focusing briefly on the marshmallow currently being assaulted, then shift over toward her own drink, which she sips from briefly.] Thank you, Samantha. I... really, really appreciate that.

But... that's okay. I think-- before I came to Asgard, it was hard to imagine wanting to be alone, most of the time. [Her eyes raise, consider the ceiling just a moment--] I'd had too much experience with it. But now-- I think maybe there are times when it's better I just... not trouble anyone. Even if they are willing to help. [Not that she didn't think so normally, but-- for the specific reason of not being in a good state.] You know?

I do... but how do I put this? [She glanced over at her for a second, eyes lingering a little too long and that intensity there for a little bit before flitting away again.] Sometimes people are willing to let you trouble them because it feels... special to be the one that you can go to when nobody else seems to do.

...

But sometimes you just want the quiet. You see the difference?

[Selfish demons could be selfish. The idea of being important to someone else like that... she missed that thought sometimes. It could bring out the possessive side she hid, but that was a side she'd accidentally let Naminé see a couple times, just a little, so...]

[Naminé studies her back, focused but not intense in that same way. (That's the thing, with Naminé - she is patient, she is unwavering, but it's a calmer, cooler sort of thing, a focus that lingers but does not demand, that is so contained as to seem in a world of its own even when it's very clearly turned on something of this world.)]

[It's not until Samantha finishes that Naminé nods, just a little bit slow but not from lack of understanding.]

Yeah... I know that feeling. It-- really is special. [And truthfully, she misses it, herself. Lost those of her world who might see fit to confide in her that way, lost her moirail, hasn't found any other who has expressed such a sentiment to her again--]

[She swallows.]

It feels good, to be trusted. [More than anyone else - but she is more one to push away such selfishness, to let it be anything more than a service provided to someone else.] ... I'll keep that in mind. Still, I... also know what it's like to make things harder on others because of your own feelings. I-- I've always hated the idea of doing that ever again.

[Whereas, for all that she looked otherworldly and was hideously awkward, there was always a certain 'hereness' to Samantha, an in the moment edge that burned with fierce and intense focus. Evil Sam might have been dead, but it bore remembering that she had been a dark reflection of her. Where Evil Sam would chain someone to a wall and torture them for days until they loved them... Sam herself really didn't see any issue in possessively, fiercely and aggressively demanding something sometimes. Caught in the right moment, one could find themselves staring right into very burning red embers of eyes that were anything but cool and distant.

Right now, though, they smoldered. She hated public scenes. Eyes watched her.]

It is and it does... Look, though... I don't offer this lightly. I'd rather you not be alone if it's like that. [Paint herself the martyr, but then again so was Naminé a little.] But, I guess more than that... it would mean something if you came to the door one night.

[Was it bad that, maybe, just maybe, the manipulative side of her was coming out in what she saw as a possible weak-point in the girl's emotional armor?]

[Otherworldly to some, maybe - to Naminé, there is very little that is strange. Horns, eyes that burn, a tail... none of them strike her as being any stranger than half the things she's seen in her life. Unique, perhaps, but not anything worthy of fear. (She knows what fear looks like, and it is not, for her, that. Her demons wore black coats.)]

[For all that she enjoys the moment, all that she relishes it, what Naminé sees is the future, and what she sees is the past. Memories, all sorted out into neat chains that both bind and provide traction, provide something to hold to; the knowledge in those memories tell her of the future, as history informs what will one day be yet more history. It is in her nature to guide, to take what she has learned and use it to build a bridge to that future - not for her, never for her, but for others.]

['Come into my parlor', said the spider to the fly.]

[It's not the first part that makes her pause; indeed, it is the second.]

If that's the way you feel about it, then... I'll remember. [Not a promise, but,] And the same goes for you, alright? If you need me, all you have to do is call. [Here, have a little smile.] Thank you, Samantha.

[Witches get stitches, eh Nammers?

Naminé should be careful. Samantha was willing to do just that, without any warning, and considering what was coming soon, it might happen sooner than expected. But quite fitting to think of it like a spider, considering her little spirit guide.]

It is. and you're welcome. I'll remember too. [She took another sip and settled, bending a knee up and looking at the others.] Sometimes it almost doesn't look like we're in a war.

[Witches who can't heal, at least.]

[Naminé is perhaps more careful than she might seem. That said... she does have a tendency to be more inclined toward helpfulness than she ought to be, for her own sake.]

[Her smile lingers a moment before sobering. She does not relax any further, really - it seems like she never does. She will, however, take a quiet drink of her hot chocolate as her eyes search calmly over the crowd.]

It hardly ever does. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad one. [....] Not that I don't enjoy it. But... I guess it depends on the outcome. As long as everyone does what needs to be done when the time comes, it can't hurt. It... makes the city seem like a place worth fighting for.

[A home worth fighting for.]

[It was a tendency Sam might be trying to abuse a little... though not maliciously at least. Still, she nods at the comment.] It does depend on the outcome, honestly. If they're not going soft all at once when the fight comes here, then it's just something to help them with the stress and remind them who they care about here.

...it was the people that really got me caring about this war.

[Her own nod is firm.] Exactly.

[Her eyes shift over once more to the other girl, considering her a moment.]

Me too.

[She almost sighs, but instead holds it in.]

It's one thing for the gods to tell us whatever they want us to believe, but... the people here deserve protection, Traveller and native alike. They need it, and they need us. It's... hard not to care when you see the others every day, or make friends you know would be hurt if something were to happen to the city, or when the citizens act so grateful.

I've never cared as much about what they told me about my world. There's people here, and I actually care about more than a few of them by now. [She glanced over at the blonde quietly.] Once I started to care, it was only a matter of time before I really got involved in the fight.

Never needed them to convince me I was saving my world.

[Not a surprise, really. When Samantha looks, Naminé is looking back, a sympathetic expression on her face.]

Yeah. It's... not really about the other worlds out there.

I mean-- it is, for some of us. Me, too. But I guess I just mean that it's important to save this world, too. No matter whether that means anything for all the others or not.

[Not that the others don't add yet more value to it.]

Exactly. There's plenty to do here. [and eventually she'd see the value maybe in saving hers again... but not yet.]

Mmhm. Never a dull moment.

[Her smile ebbs away gradually, thoughtfully.]

... Do you think what they said is true? About-- when we go back to our own worlds.

Lose our memories... back to the instant we came from?

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Lose our memories... back to the instant we came from? <small.[She frowned.]</small> I think it might be true, but I don't like that if it is. If I can find a way to keep our memories, I want to.

[A nod.] It... does seem likely. It would be nice, I think, to be able to remember, but... with the way things seem to work, it's hard to imagine being allowed to. If the people later on the timelines haven't noticed anything amiss or even heard anything about Asgard....

[Then that kind of implies that either memories for those earlier were wiped or that literally everyone suddenly became excellent at hiding things.]

... I've... had a little progress so far. But it doesn't feel like it touches our worlds yet, so I don't know how good it is. It's also... costly.

[She pulled out a little vial. It had a blue color to it. The label barely carried enough space to show the writing 'Ogham's Pen.']

I think you wanted to know if I was getting anywhere. It... I don't know how to put it. If I drank it, it would be like having a camera or a video recorder. I could capture a few seconds or some images... and I'd remember them, but I'd lose a piece of something I remembered before.

The thing is... like you said, it's hard to imagine we could take it beyond, and the only memories it affects so far are the ones I have here.

[She perks immediately, but it's not in an actively good sort of way. The corners of her mouth pull downward, eyes turning immediately to the vial when it's produced. Brow knitting, she listens.]

Samantha-- [There's a lot she could say about memories, really, a lot of warnings she could give - her mind is buzzing with them, but first comes a question.] How many times have you used it? [Her concern is obvious.]

Once. To make sure it worked. It wasn't something I'd dare let someone else test unless I could be sure. There's... a little control on what you burn out for the memory, and the recall is perfect.

...it's not something to toy with. It could do permanent damage if you abuse too much of it. I'm certain of it.

[Permanent damage, indeed. She forces herself to sit back in her seat as she processes this, hands tight around the mug in front of her.]

... None of it is. Memories-- it's too risky to tamper with them if you're not completely sure what you're doing or how to do it. Samantha-- you could destroy yourself with things like that. Is it really worth that?

I am as careful as anyone can be when they're working with this sort of thing. [She took a sip of her drink and pocketed the potion again.] I've... seen the future in my world. I already am destroyed. I'd rather not die not knowing the people I knew here.

It'd be insult added to injury, and even if I'm wrong about that I've lived here for the better part of a year. Denying me that chunk of my life's something I'm not ok with. However, when I say it's meant to be used sparingly... I mean it.

This is something I don't plan to ever sell more than two or three doses to someone ever. If you're going to go this far, the memories should be precious ones.

[It's almost like a wince, the way her eyes squeeze shut for just a moment. Already destroyed? How many people is that, now? (She's never sure whether to count herself or not.)]

Maybe not, but... here, you can still be with them. You can still live life the way you have, for as long as the gods will let you. If you're not careful, you could ruin even that for yourself...!

[She falters.]

... Not that I'm saying you aren't careful. You... really have been, by the sound of things. It's just-- there's no way to be certain it would even work once you're sent home until you are. I don't want to see you lose what time you have left here for something like that.

[Even if she can also see the temptation of things like that.]

[She reached up to put her finger to the girl's lips when she started to raise her voice. It was a careful, small gesture and she gave her a very soft, sad smile.]

Don't expect me to take more than a couple doses, ever. If it doesn't affect memories from my world, I don't think it will work to bring them through. I've done a test, one test... and there might be one, two memories I want to keep beyond that... just in case. But beyond that?

No, it's back to the drawing board. I won't settle for blasting my mind for a half-assed cure. This isn't the solution. So... I'll sacrifice a couple moments, just to keep a couple faces in my mind. But don't worry... no more.

--....

[She falls silent at the gesture, but her frown is still there, eyes still focused with more ferocity than would normally be in them. It's not anger, exactly, especially as the urgency ebbs away, but there's sadness, and a lot of it.]

....

[Though she nods, firm but slow, she does so with a following,]

Good. But what will you do with your next attempt? And the one after that? [And after that-- and so forth.]

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