middaeg | [Open] Canon Update & Catch-all!

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[Open] Canon Update & Catch-all!

Who: Elliot & OPEN!
When: January 4th
Where: Mirror house & around Aefenglom
What: Canon update/Catch-All!
Warnings: Major spoilers for Trails of Cold Steel 3 afoot! Also CW mentions of death.

I. Mirror House
[Elliot didn't visit the mirror house very often. Aside from the times of new arrivals or checking to see if someone's left, there wasn't much reason to be there. But today, he felt compelled to go, by reasons he couldn't explain. Without really thinking about it, he wound up in front of mirror that was decorated in assorted carvings of music related items and his beloved friends. And still without thinking, he reached out to touch the reflective pristine glass.

And all of a sudden, came a whirlwind of memories playing on the glass. They start off nice: leaving home to go on tour, releasing his first record, concerts, seeing Rean again, getting the group chat going. But just as pleasant as the memories start, they quickly go darker: the truth of Hamel, the dark dragon, Azure Siegfried, the Curse, Angelica, the Gral of Erebos, the Courageous exploding, Millium-

Elliot, who was completely transfixed on the memories, collapses as soon as the glass goes back to normal. Once more, he's aware that he's back in Aefenglom. Not in the hellish Gral, watching friends die and knowing what was now spreading across Erebonia. They were all in danger, except now he was-]

N-No..! Not now, I can't...why?

[Whatever he means is lost, because he's completely overcome with sobbing. He'll probably be like this a good long while. Anyone bonded with him will feel waves of grief and fear coming from him.]

II. Aefenglom
[Eventually, Elliot's able to collect himself enough to pull himself off the floor and leave the mirrorhouse. From there...well, he doesn't know where to go. He doesn't want to go back to his house, how do you go home to your friends who are none-the-wiser and tell them such horrible news? He really didn't feel up to that just yet. Nor did he feel like continuing on his daily schedule, there was no way he could focus on music or anything else.

So eventually, he decides to just...wander. He starts walking, not even really thinking about the direction or where he'll go. If you pass by him, it's clear he's barely paying attention to his surroundings as he slowly walks. It doesn't even seem to register to him that it's freezing out. Or maybe you'll catch him standing still, near the river or the ocean, simply staring - completely lost in thought, sometimes quietly talking to himself ]

...What am I supposed to do now...?

[No matter how many times he asks himself that, he can't seem to find the answer]

[OOC: Elliot's been canon updated to the end of CS3! Clearly, it had a happy ending. ]

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[Elliot blinks and comes out of whatever thoughts he was in when someone addresses him. His head shakes slightly, like he's shaking off some kind of fog that was clouding him. Glancing over, he sees it's a girl he doesn't know]

Oh...was I? [He'd lost track of time. That's embarrassing] S-Sorry, um... guess I got lost in thought there.

[Up close it's easier to see his eyes are red and puffy. He's been crying recently.]

[ It's definitely hard to not notice what his eyes look like. And combined with the way he was standing there and doing nothing, it just makes everything even more concerning. Being upset isn't too weird, but will he just stand here literally all day if left alone? ]

You look like you got a little more than just lost in thought. [ Maybe it's a little too blunt of a call out, but this is just how Asahi works. ] Is something wrong?

I...

[Well, that's one way to approach it. It does help with avoiding beating around the bush. Elliot hesitates, trying to figure out how to tell someone he doesn't know. Then again, sometimes telling a stranger helps. How much worse can things get anyway?]

I got ...um, well, I guess you could call it a memory update? From the mirror house. Remembered and found out about a lot of things that happened back home. [He doesn't know how else to explain it]

It was...a lot of bad news. A-Actually, that might be an understatement.

[ Apparently he didn't find out many good things then, huh.

Asahi does still frown with concern, but for a moment there's almost something awkward about her. She's never been good with strangers, but she also doesn't want to abandon someone so clearly troubled. Think, what would Koyuki have done in this situation?

She glances around her before looking back at Elliot. ]

Maybe talking about it to a stranger might help. [ Especially if it's stuff related to his home world, then surely he couldn't talk about it to people he knew from back home if they are here.. ] Do you like tea? We can go get some and talk, if you want.

[ She gestures in the direction he was staring at before. ]

It's better than just standing here. And less cold.

Ah...I'm really not sure these are the kind of troubles a stranger wants to hear.

[Which might sound questionable, but really it just means there's so much stuff. So much]

But...I-I guess it'd be bad if I got myself sick again from being outside all day. So...sure. I'll take some tea.

After slowly and painfully growing out feathers for weeks, hearing someone else's problems for once might be a nice distraction. [ It's said almost a little flatly, like she's deadpanning. It's easier than amditting that she might care about a random stranger's problems, even to herself.

Regardless, she gestures for him to follow her as she starts heading in the direction of a cafe. ]

What's your name, by the way?

[....

He's quiet to that response. He doesn't know her well enough to be sure what she means by it, hopefully she's trying to be nice.]

I'm Elliot. You?

[He starts walking to the cafe with her.]

Asahi. Nice to meet you. .. Despite the circumstances, I guess.

[ Then again, if he hadn't been standing there looking so sad and lost, she may never have spoken up to him to begin with. ]

I didn't even know people's memories could get.. updated, or whatever you called it.

Right...nice to meet you too, Asahi.

[He gives a little nod]

It happens once and awhile, I saw it happen to my Bond a few months ago. I couldn't tell you how its possible though.

[He is not great on theoretic stuff even when he wasn't in a terrible mood]

[ If it happened to his Bond and then to him in just a few months' time, then apaprently it must be pretty common.. Huh. Asahi grows quiet for a moment, mulling it over in her head before she speaks up again. ]

Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure most of us don't understand all that much of what's up with this place or how any of this works. [ Especially Asahi here, since she comes from such a relatively normal world.. ] Or maybe that's just me.

Mm...that's true.

[Honestly, he can't say he's met any mirrorbound with a good grasp to the ins and outs of this world. It was too alien for all of them.

But those details aren't what's on Elliot's mind right now. None of that stuff mattered to him, not really. ]

...My world's ending. I..I know people say that to be dramatic, but in this case it's...very literal.

.. Like an apocalypse?

[ Since he's saying it's very literal, and she can't imagine what other meaning it could literally have. She frowns a little as she considers it. ]

What is causing it?

[He gives a nod to confirm it]

A curse. It drives people to do terrible things.

Someone performed a ritual to spread the curse everywhere. My friends and I tried to stop it...but we failed.

That's.. [ She starts, then pauses. It's on such a different scale than she's used to. Sure, she and her friends had problems of their own, sometimes even big ones. But the whole world sure never was on the line.

Asahi can't even imagine dealing with that much. ]

.. that sucks. I'm sorry. [ It sounds a little less blunt than all her earlier words, and there's sympathy in her eyes. ] You shouldn't blame yourself for that though. The responsibility of saving the world shouldn't be on any single person's shoulders.

[ Or even just a small group. ]

[Elliot takes in a breath, because yeah, he knows it's a big problem to have.]

I don't blame myself... [Well, to clarify] I mean, I'm upset we failed but...I don't know what else we could've realistically done differently. That's the worst part.

[He knows they were outmatched and outwitted. Elliot, as sensitive as he was, could understand logic. There's no way they could've guessed some of the things thrown at them.]

I...I saw a friend die. She was only fifteen. [A child, in so many ways] A-And even if I could've stopped her, her little sister would've died instead.

[How does one cope with that fact?]

[ At least it's good to hear that his problem isn't necessarily that kind of guilt. But hearing what the problem actually is.. yeah, that's not a whole lot better. Asahi has never saw anyone die like that. Especially not so young.

It's why she's quiet for a few moments, moving into a nearby cafe and guiding him towards a table off in a corner with less people around - just to give him some privacy.

Only when they're sitting there does she finally seem to find some words for what he's saying, although they still feel inadequate. ]

People that young shouldn't have to die. [ 15 is even younger than she is. But she knows he already knows what she's saying too. Everyone knows that. ] There really are some cruel things out there, huh..

[He lets himself be guided, sitting down at the table in the cafe as she collects her thoughts. He feels a little bad, he knows it's a lot to lay on a stranger. He can't even be surprised that she's struggling with what to say, who wouldn't? What is the right thing to say?]

Yeah, there are. [He responds quietly. Shouldn't have happened, maybe, but it did happen. There was no calling foul and undoing it] Some others died too. They were on a ship coming to help us, and ... they got blown up.

[Because yes, the horrors keep going on]

Is..

[ She starts, then stops. Along with not being sure what to even say to things that horrific, she's trying really hard to be thoughtful of his feelings. No matter how blunt Asahi is 90% of the time, she wouldn't want to hurt someone for no reason. But that means having to make sure she's wording things the right way and taking her time with speaking. ]

Is that the last thing that happened before you found yourself back here?

[He bites his lip. The true last thing he remembered was Rean losing it and killing that beast in his rage, triggering the great twilight. But even now, he can't bring himself to talk about Rean like that with a stranger.]

...Essentially, yeah.

Geez.. As if being stuck in this place by itself isn't bad enough, you have to do it right after dealing with all of that.

[ Usually Asahi would be a little more doubtful of his words - or anyone's, really - but she can't do that when someone seems so genuinely sad and troubled. So she just instantly believes him. ]

I know it won't help much, but the drinks are my treat today. I guess that's all I can do.

Yeah, wasn't the greatest timing to come back, that's for sure.

[Then again, he's not sure what would've happened if he stayed longer. He couldn't see the situation getting better in that moment]

I'd say you're doing more than just drinks, listening to me talk about this and putting up with me. Thank you, by the way, I really do appreciate it.

[ She believes him when he says just having someone who's listening helps. Being able to vent does help her with stuff too, but it's usually not about something this heavy. It makes her feel like she should be doing more, even if that's impossible. ]

It's not really "putting up with" if I decided to do so myself, right? [ She's the one who approached him and dragged him along, after all. ] I have no clue what's going to happen when you get home, and this place can be pretty crappy too most of the time, but.. I guess I still wanted you to do something other than just standing there and not doing anything. That's no way to live.

[He looks a little embarrassed]

I-It's not like I was going to stand out there forever....

[Ok so he had no good plans long term, but he was processing!! Still, he guess she has a fair point]

Still...you're not wrong. It's not like I was doing anything out there. I should find some way to keep moving. Even if I...don't know what that means yet.

[ Asahi nods.

It's probably only natural to not know that yet, huh. When it feels like your world is literally collapsing, it must be hard to even imagine a future, let alone know how to fill it up. ]

.. you'll find that meaning eventually, I think. I have a friend back home who's really good at being positive. I'm sure she would've told you that. Just keep going, bit by bit, and eventually it'll come to you.

T-That's...good advice... [It reminds him of the kind of talk he'd hear back home among class vii and their allies. Just keep working, bit by bit, to accomplish what they want.

But what if what he wanted right now was impossible? To see Millium again, to hug her and apologize for their last interaction. Why did things have to play out like this...?

Sorry, but he goes quiet and starts wiping at his eyes as the tears start to form up again. This is gonna be a thing.]

[Open] Canon Update & Catch-all!

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