—i play the heroine, i play to their sympathies.

[appeale]

WHO: rudbeckia de borgia & etc.
WHERE: various locations
WHEN: check subject lines
WHAT: catch-all & overflow log
WARNINGS: will update as needed. see individual threads for specific warnings and mind ruby's character cws

Comments

[appeale]

Because Signora Sooyoung knew about my house and my family members from history.

[ which is a conversation that went far more smoothly than Rudbeckia had feared, as soon as she realised she was going to be around people from the modern day again.

she tries to recall anything else Sooyoung mentioned about her own home, but Sooyoung is always so cagey... monsters and magic had been a recent occurrence, she'd said. so, what, are they from some kind of post-magical disaster Korea? maybe that explains why they're all so strange. ]

I don't know anything other than that! But since you seem familiar with technology like these phones, I just assumed you must be from a year close to some others I've met.

[regression]

Talking to her won't be any good for you.

[ Because Sooyoung is just as much as a snake as Dokja, but worse in his honest opinion. That woman doesn't hide her venom at all—which he supposes is comforting. This is funny to think about when in the future Ruby would accept Sooyoung's invitation to live with them.

Well, that's her problem. ]

It seems that other people from earth are from different wordlines entirely.

[appeale]

[ as far as Ruby is concerned right now, Sooyoung is the safest and most normal member of their unhinged friend(?) trio, and she cannot believe the audacity of the most terrifying member cautioning her. not even going to dignify it with a response! ]

Worldlines... [ that's a strangely specific term, but she's consumed enough science fiction to guess: ] Like... different versions of history?

[ she's really starting to wonder what the hell kinds of experiences these three have had. she's never going to ask; she'll just have to piece it together. ]

If that's true... I might be, too. Since the signora had heard of my brother Cesare, and my father the Pope, but she didn't recognise my name. [ a pause. ] Oh, but maybe I just wasn't a very memorable part of our history...

[regression]

[ How is it not Dokja when Sooyoung and Joonghyuk share the same blood type...? The audacity. Joonghyuk, of course, believes he's the most reasonable and normal one out of the three. ]

Different worlds, alternate realities—similar enough. [ Quietly, he wracks his head over the possibilities. ] It's not uncommon for women to be discounted in history... But it could be likely you're from a different world.

What is most important is that whatever that brought us here is powerful enough to reach across universes.

[ His postures stiffens, paranoia carrying him along despite how he wanted to get away for a moment. As much as he was made to fight the scenarios and has geared his mind to overcome obstacles, he knows the importance of rest. With a breath, his shoulder drop some.

A simple topic. ]

Did you enjoy the festival?

[appeale]

[ oh, what an unexpectedly mundane and friendly question to hear. if she were insane like Dokja and Sooyoung, maybe she'd praise him for it. Good boy. if he wants to socialise with something so light-hearted for whatever reason, then she'll play along. isn't that what she's good for? to make things seem uncomplicated for a moment in time by her own lack of awareness, like a beloved pet. ]

Yes, it was fun! [ she sits up and goes about tidying her hair, combing her fingers through it while she cranes her neck to look up at Joonghyuk. ] I got to do things I've never tried before... and everything felt a little different because nobody here really knows me as a member of the Borgia House.

[ it's something she finds herself having to actively remember, at times. she got so accustomed to the expectation that the people she met would know her reputation and despise her; that introducing herself as "Rudbeckia de Borgia" set the timer on a bomb she had to defuse as fast as possible. here, there have been no eyes on her. she has a blank slate. there are downsides too, and it isn't enough to be something she can feel relaxed over, but...

it is a difference. ]

It's hard being the daughter of the Pope, you know! I have to worry a lot about how my actions will reflect on the family name.

[regression]

[ He is less insane the other two, he thinks. More likely to be normal in a normal situation... Good on Ruby for not patronizing him or he'd bite back. While she looks up to him, he's not going to break his neck and look down. His gaze stays on the horizon where they can see some festive lights in the distance.

In a way, he relates, though not exactly in the same way. He's used to eyes on him at all times... Privacy was a luxury. ]

Here you are free to be just yourself.

[ It's a nice thought. ]

[appeale]

[ whether it's personal experience or just sympathy, there's genuine understanding in those words. maybe she shouldn't be particularly surprised; Joonghyuk does seem like the kind of person who's been under a great deal of pressure at some point in his life. nobody who's had an ordinary existence acts like that. ]

That's exactly it. [ if he's not going to look at her, then there's no point putting extra effort into being cute. she can't simply stop smiling, of course. but she doesn't need to worry about it appearing convincing right now. her eyes close, just for the moment. ] What about you, signore? Did you have a good time?

[ actually, she's sure he has a dozen complaints to make just the same as she does. ]

[regression]

[ That's right. She can relax—they both can. Without needing to know about each other's history or past, there is at least something they can both understand and it's the tethers of their worlds being undone. They can exist and that's the aura he gives off, standing there like a weirdo.

Yet Joonghyuk, obviously, does not wish to stay here. He's willing to sacrifice these new freedoms. ]

There are things I have to do at home.

[ So all of this really is just a wrench in his plans. Unnecessary and unwelcome. It's one complaint that somehow encompasses many. ]

[appeale]

Ah—that's right, you're going to return.

[ when he'd said that, she had wondered if it was more about rebellion against confinement in this place than it was any sort of attachment to the place he came from, but perhaps it's both. while she may not know much about Joonghyuk, anyone can tell he's wilful; it follows that he would stubbornly whatever he's set his sights on. is there a particular path he's carved out for himself towards the future? this isn't the novel, and still, she can't help thinking so often of him: how very like a protagonist. ]

There must be things there you care very much for. [ her soft, sweet voice doesn't belie any of the bitterness on her tongue. ] Well, if it's you, I'm sure you'll be able to make it home.

[ that much is honest. ]