[Dec Catchall] ✵ Learn to trust the journey, even when you do not understand it.

[vennessa]

⌛ Who: Diluc Ragnvindr (phoenixblessed), Red Wine, (judgementor), Vennessa (vennessa), Thanatos (inevitablerest) & Raphael (cupiditasmedendi) & you perhaps.
⌛ What: General prompts, closed prompts for December. Drop me a prompt to answer if you like!
⌛ When: Through December
⌛ Where: Noted in threads
⌛ Warnings: Will be marked when they are needed

---

✵ Diluc Ragnvindr
  +

✵ Red Wine
  +

✵ Thanatos
  +

✵ Vennessa
  +

✵ Raphael
  +

Comments

✵ Diluc Ragnvindr

[phoenixblessed]

[OTA] Kyoto - a cold day at the beach [early Dec]

[phoenixblessed]

[Most people wouldn't consider coming to a beach at this time of year. It's bitterly cold, the wind feels like needles when it hits any exposed skin, and there's nothing at all pleasant about the colour of the sea when the sky is a dull and gloomy grey.

But there is someone there. A single line of footsteps dented into the wet sand as the tide slowly moves out from the shore would eventually lead anyone following them to a young man standing and looking out at the water.

Diluc's arms are folded, his expression impassive - almost numb. He hadn't taken the news about the time loop well, and what it would mean for the progress he had made in certain aspects of his life even in the short time he had been in Nippon. He should have been able to find some comfort in Kaeya, should have spoken to him before going anywhere, but right now Kaeya's face would be the most difficult to look at.

It's been a while since he last ran away from his emotions like this. He isn't proud of it, but he had felt so entirely suffocated in those moments after the broadcast that he had just needed some space to... process things.

Not years, this time. Maybe just a few hours.]

[icepatch]

You should really stop internalizing your emotions.

[It wasn't that Kaeya didn't care about what he had seen in the broadcast, despite his almost blasé tone. But it was that Diluc just up and left and the cavalry captain knew exactly it meant. He hadn't really processed it all himself just yet and maybe he would later.

He was being a hypocrite, internalizing this himself but he was used to doing things this way with his emotions. Having to lie for as long as he had taught him much and more about working through the trials and tribulation of life without outwardly showing it. It wasn't the healthiest, to say the least, but it wasn't as bad as Diluc in his opinion. After all, despite the lies he still had his friendships with his fellow Knights and captains. So, after giving Diluc some time to himself, he eventually followed along.

Kizuna made it a little easier to track his wayward lover than he really wanted to admit, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth either.]

It doesn't seem to be all doom and gloom, she did give us advice on how to potentially avoid this.

[The "maybe" of it all didn't sit well with Kaeya in the slightest. But it was all they had to go on, too.]

[phoenixblessed]

[He knew that Kaeya was coming the moment a strand of hair whipped in front of his face flushed deep blue. The first thing he says provokes a soft snort, because Kaeya is one to talk about internalising things, but at the same time he knew that the comment was coming.

Doesn't Kaeya know him so well, after all?]

You can't tell me it doesn't bother you at all. [Diluc says eventually, his voice just carrying over the blustering wind and the sound of the sea. He tightens his grip around his elbows, frowning.]

Or that it surprises you that it bothers me.

[icepatch]

Of course it bothers you and I. I'm fairly certain it'll bother everyone to varying degrees.

[Honestly, it would be concerning if it didn't. But that wasn't necessarily what he was talking about either.]

Running off, however, isn't going to do you any good. Although I'll admit, I'm not entirely sure what to feel after hearing that particular bombshell. And when I thought we were getting handle on these surges and whatnot, too.

[There was just always more to the story, wasn't there? He supposed he couldn't blame the NRL for this if they were also in the dark due to the time loop itself. But why would that girl decide to only tell them all now? If this truly was there second loop now, with the potential to start a third, why hadn't she come out with it from the start?]

But we do have some information on how to move forward about it, though, which is more than I expected. It eases some of the reservations I have.

[baneofallevil]

[ It shouldn't have been such a big deal, and to some? Maybe it wasn't anything to worry about and yet... to Xiao, the news of the time loop just settled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach.

Should the time loop actually happen again, he'd forget all about the things that had happened since his arrival here. Each and every person he'd gotten close to, how he'd learnt to relax from his impartial, almost distant look when it came to humans and other matters. No longer did he worry about his karmic debt affecting others, but the biggest concern of his lied with Venti and their relationship.

They even had a house here now, and it was so strange when he thought about it.

An Adeptus and the Anemo Archon living together and in love. That word was so foreign but now welcomed as he couldn't see himself without the other, and the idea of losing all the precious memories of him and Venti actually scared him in a way he couldn't put into words. Xiao had at some point started wandering on his own, not paying much attention to where he was going until he found himself at the gloomy-looking beach.

He would have just kept on his way, but a flash of red caught his eye and that was when he realized it must belong to Diluc. No other person he knew had that shade of red hair. So. This meant the man was there on the sand by himself, which had Xiao disappearing and reappearing within a few feet of where the man stood. ]

...Hm. You must have taken the news about things as well as I have.

[ His voice is soft as he approached, gaze turned out towards the sea and arms crossed over his chest. ]

[phoenixblessed]

[He feels someone else's presence on the beach like a prickle up his spine, and though he wants to he doesn't turn around to see who it is... because if it's the wrong person, he knows he's going to lose his temper.

As luck would have it, it's Xiao. He can tell by the soft sound of his appearance next to him even before he speaks up.]

I'm assuming you took it badly, in which case you're not wrong.

[Briefly, he glances Xiao's way. The adeptus has become an unexpected source of friendship and comfort for him while he has known him, in spite of their... unconventional introduction. Diluc huffs out a soft sigh and shakes his head, curling his hands around his elbows as his arms cross tightly over his chest.]

I don't like the idea of forgetting everything I've done here.

[baneofallevil]

[ Xiao just wordlessly nodded, watching the dull color of the sea for a quiet moment. There was a lot to think about ever since that announcement, along with a flurry of emotions he didn't like truly thinking about. Mostly it came down to a mix of anger and sadness that coiled within him bitterly and why he'd begun wandering about before now.

He'd also built some notable bonds here that he didn't want to lose, as there was no guarantee he could easily make them again. Diluc had become one of them, a presence he found comforting and warm to where he sought him out at times. Maybe now was a more subtle way of that happening and he didn't even really realize it. ]

Neither do I. The idea... that I could lose everything I've gained while here... and go back to how I used to be? It doesn't sit well with me.

[ Xiao scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he frowned a little. ]

There is no promise things would turn out this way a second time. I want to keep everything as it is now.

[acutabove]

[ Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised that there is yet another person wandering the sands despite the chill of the air and the general seclusion of the beach itself. After running into Vennessa it had been made clear that he wasn't the only one that tended to wander along the sands when he wanted to get away - even the natives were not immune, but seeing them here was a rare occurrence and they were usually quick to make themselves scarce to give him his privacy - and he wondered, idly, if he might see her again at the end of the trail of footprints.

It's not exactly the reason why he stoops every so often to pick up a pretty shell or a piece of seaglass, but if he just so happened to run into her again it would make a nice gift, he thinks. He wonders if she might also be taking the news of the impending reset hard, like so many others Childe knew.

As he's stooping to dig up another shell half-buried in the sand he spots a familiar head of red hair and quickly straightens, his treasure in hand. His thumb brushes sand off the surface while he makes his way towards the other occupant on the beach, pausing only when he's able to make out the rest of the person sitting on the sands enough to determine that oh, it's not Vennessa, it's the other redhead.

While he and Diluc hadn't exactly parted on amicable terms - something that seemed par for the course with someone that hated the Fatui and yet made said Fatui feel out of sorts regardless - they both didn't go to any lengths to antagonize each other further. As much as he wouldn't have expected Diluc to fall to such lows Childe almost wanted him to, if only for the chance to see if a fight wouldn't help put him back in order.

He stares at the Mondstadtian's back for a long, long moment before he eventually comes to a decision and makes his way over with a sigh. His feet kicks up little tufts of sand as he walks, the shells in his hands clinking together with the seaglass just barely audible above the sound of the tide coming in. Childe will walk until he's reached the other's side and then settle down with an oomph, the sand cushioning his bottom comfortably as he leans back and peers up at the sky. ]

... think it's going to rain?

[phoenixblessed]

[He and Childe have, until this point, not been on terms that anyone would call amicable though even someone who didn't know either of them would be able to see how one-sided the animosity is. Diluc hates the man, he assures himself despite mounting evidence against such an assertion...

(A little metal pinwheel dropped not-quite-carelessly into a small vase on a bookshelf, entirely unexplained but not discarded.)

The reason he doesn't make to antagonise Childe further is simple, he tells himself. Because it's what he wants, and there's far more to be said for refusing him exactly what he desires than there is for giving him what he's after. He wants a fight? Diluc is content to deny him that.

But admittedly, right now, Childe is not in his thoughts. His mind is on a certain dark-skinned young man with mismatched eyes and a cocky grin that had been conspicuously absent when Diluc had grabbed his coat and left the house in silence. There had been a moment of guilt for that. A moment of thinking maybe he ought to stay and try something that wasn't isolating himself when his emotions started to boil over.

He has never wished more that he had simply listened to his instincts when a familiar and entirely unwanted voice pipes up at his side. Diluc's frame goes rigid immediately, the shift in his expression almost imperceptible as the bright crimson of his Vision languidly kaleidoscopes inside the glass.]

Just get to the point of what you want so I can get this over with. [He could walk away, but he was here first. Stubborn, but he can still choose not to engage the younger man in idle chatter about the weather.]

I have no interest in talking to you.

[acutabove]

And here I thought we were starting to become friends.

[ He says this with the sort of blasé dismissal of someone that cares little for the amount of comrades they surround themselves with, and it's not exactly stretching the truth. As much as Childe enjoys the company of the acquaintances he's made in Nippon he's never been one to feel loneliness or yearned for friends in the same way he might have when he were younger.

Now, he yearns not for companionship but for combat. It's a good trade-off, he thinks, and if he meets the right sort of people he gets both in a way.

The shells are deposited in a little pocket of sand to his right and Childe takes his time dusting off the sand from his hands and over his fabric of his shirt for all the good it will do. For whatever reason it feels like he's slowly shedding the grey uniform of the Fatui, trading in his usual garb for something more befitting the environment but no less practical. Perhaps the only thing that would mark him as being a part of the organization would be the mask still pinned to his hair and the hidden Delusion tucked away on the back of his Vision. Were anyone else from Teyvat to see him now they probably wouldn't immediately recognize his origins, Harbinger status or no. ]

Can't I come say hello? [ For his part Childe doesn't seem likely to move any time soon. He's drawn up his legs, bracing an arm on his knee and resting his chin on it while he peers out at the vast expanse of the ocean. If he feels at all nettled by Diluc's open hostility, he doesn't comment on it. ] After all - we seemed to get along quite well before. You were a precocious little kid, weren't you? I almost wonder what happ--

[ Ah. He knows what happened. Perhaps it's a sign of his confusion over his relationship with the Mondstadtian that he catches himself from prodding and pushing further, the silence that quickly falls between them broken up only the crashing of the waves against the shore.

A beat later, and he speaks again. ]

You really hate me that much, huh?

[OTA] Kyoto - catch the wind [earlyish Dec]

[phoenixblessed]

[Regrets?

Not many that can be solved in Nippon, though there are one or two things that - after a little thought about it - come to mind with regards to what Diluc does wish he had done but had never quite got around to. One of them is easily remedied.

At the top of a high cliff outside Kyoto on a clear (if cold) day, Diluc carefully adjusts the wind glider secured to his body. It's been a while since he used one, but years of intensive training and experience in such things aren't easily forgotten. He tightens the ribbon holding his hair back, fastens one button at the front of his coat to hold it closed, and takes a deep breath in.

Then he runs straight for the edge of the cliff, the sole of one foot hitting the ground hard as he--

Well, he jumps off.

Without a single flinch of hesitation, Diluc launches himself off the cliff and plummets downwards, feet first, towards the ground below. It's a heart-stopping few seconds of rushing wind and adrenaline rush and then a pair of azure-colured wings spring outwards from his shoulders and halt his descent with a jolt that has a sharp gasp punching out of his chest.

The wind glider takes him gently down the dozen metres and he lands none the worse for wear, save for losing the ribbon holding his hair back somewhere between the cliff and the ground. The redhead looks up, then a grin breaks across his face and he laughs before leaning down and bracing his hands against his knees as the ache of being pulled up at such a velocity starts working its way across his ribs.

Still, he isn't winded enough to not be able to speak.]

Yes! Still got it.



(( anyone coming on this scene pls feel free to be on top of the cliff, see him jump off or just see the landing, I'm easy with it rly ;D ))

[re_sonate]

[ever since that emergency broadcast and the information that came with it, had weighed heavily on Luke's mind. address his regrets? how could he do that when he had enough regrets to last him several lifetmes? regrets that he shouldn't have to carry on his shoulders, but does anyway, all because he listened and followed the wrong person, believed in the lie he was told, and now...]

Augh...

[reaching up with his hands, Luke buries his fingers in his hair to muss it up in frustration. he had a chance here not to think about it, and now... he has to, for what, so that time can move forward again? as confusing as it is, it's more distressing when the last thing he wants to do is even think about what he's done.

thanks, Nippon, he hates it.

however, before he can give any of that another thought, he sees a shadow ahead of him slowly grow bigger and bigger-- just what is that... Luke looks up above him, only to see Diluc literally free falling; before Luke can say anything (like "bitch what the actual fuck???"), the wind glider is deployed. it's a graceful landing, sure, and Diluc isn't a huge splatter of a mess on the ground upon landing, but it still freaked Luke out regardless. as he rushes over to the man, he has a look on his face that's partially relieved that he's safe, but also frustrated that this guy decided to jump off a damn cliff]

Hey! What the hell was that all about?!

[phoenixblessed]

[There's a definite giddy rush in doing something like that even when you know you're going to survive it, and Diluc barely notices the other person until the question sinks in and he straightens himself up from trying to ease the winded sensation across his chest.]

What?

[There's absolutely nothing odd about throwing yourself off a cliff and free-falling a couple of hundred feet, what do you mean? Diluc pushes his hair back over his shoulders, where a few curls immediately make their escape and fall forwards again. Should have brought a spare ribbon.

He looks up at the drop again and another adrenaline-fueled grin breaks across his expression for just a moment. How long had it been since he had been so freely, wildly reckless like that?

Too long.]

I apologise if I startled you. [He says then, still examining the drop. It looks further from down here than it did at the top.] But I was never in any danger.

[emergencysnack]

[From up above, an ominous voice is gradually growing louder, calling out Diluc's name in a long yell that veers from concern to anger seemingly in an instant--]

[Before ending with a familiar little friend skidding to a stop in mid-air beside him.]

Yoooouuu....!! You gave Paimon a heart attack! Paimon thought she'd have to try and catch you before you splattered!

[STOMPS HER LITTLE FEET IN MID-AIR]

[phoenixblessed]

[Diluc, trying to fix his hair and looking around on the off-chance that the ribbon he had had it tied in had fallen down relatively close, glances towards Paimon with a faintly raised eyebrow and then looks up at the edge of the cliff he had just jumped from.]

You wouldn't have done a very good job of that if it took you this long to catch up with me. [He comments with a wry expression, then gives up on the ribbon and just pushes the mass of windswept red curls back over his shoulders instead.]

What are you doing out here by yourself, Paimon?

[reanbean]

[Hope you like giant mechs because there's one headed your way, Diluc. However, it stops right at the outskirts of where he had landed. It then takes a knee and soon, an orb of light traveled from its chest to the ground where it revealed a teenaged boy with black hair and lilac eyes. He immediately ran over.]

Are you all right?

[Although it seemed kind of obvious upon closer inspection, but one couldn't be too careful!]

[phoenixblessed]

[Diluc admittedly has no experience with mechs to say he likes them one way or the other but he is quite obviously startled by the way this one makes its entrance if the large claymore suddenly in his hand is anything to go by.

He's already humming with adrenaline when Rean appears, more than ready for a fight, but the question knocks him off-guard.]

I'm fine. [Though, honestly, Rean was quite nearly not in those few moments.] What in the Archon's name is that.

✵ Red Wine

[judgementor]

✵ Thanatos

[inevitablerest]

Uji, Kyoto | Mid to end of December | OTA

[inevitablerest]

[Thanatos has never been comfortable at Haemus Mons, but he knew from the beginning that he would be far more uncomfortable should he go elsewhere. And so he has made the best of it, particularly since Ares' abrupt disappearance, and tends to be rarely seen around the grounds and the temple itself.

Like any god, he will often come when sincerely called... but he is used to not being called upon. Mortals want little to do with death even when it comes for them softly, and Thanatos is used to this. So he passes his time in seclusion with often only his twin for company, only occasionally venturing out to see what new thing Nippon is doing now. His last moment of curiosity had led him to the hot springs and that had been more than enough to make him re-think ever indulging his curiosity in anything ever again.

But even someone entirely used to seclusion and isolation might sometimes feel the need to be near people, and being stuck within four walls feels as if it is slowly driving him insane.

When he appears in the shrine's gardens it's early evening, dark, the sky clear and the air fresh and chilly, and the announcement of his presence comes in the form of a sickly green flash and the sound of a distant gong. The base of the handle of his scythe touches the ground although his feet don't, and he pushes his hood back to shake silvery hair free. There's a dull look in his amber eyes as he sighs and utters softly;]

Ουδέν κακόν αμιγές καλού.

[This place weighs heavily on him. Not the temple, which he can admit the pleasantness of without heaping praise upon it, but Nippon itself. A being so closely connected to the passage of life into death would not be able to fail to notice how strangely such things flowed here, fractured and shattered, and Thanatos finds it difficult to turn his mind from it when he has so little else with which to occupy his time.

He finds a bench to sit, though when seated he does have the air of someone entirely unused to sitting. The scythe-bearing death god plucks a nearby flower - a poppy - and it does not die in his hands as some might expect but only shifts gently in the chilly air as he turns it between his fingers.]

I did not think to see Death to be as fragile a thing as Life.



(trans: Nothing bad is without something good.)

[reassume]

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague.

[there's lilting amusement in his voice as he responds to the god's words. Normally, he would have ignored him, perhaps laughed at the comment and wandered away, but it's the scythe that grabs his attention. A familiar symbol of Death, even thousands of years into the future where he comes from. And a man appearing with one out of nowhere? Why, that's far more interesting then whatever else he may come across today.

His eyes are briefly drawn to the poppy as he hums to himself] So one could say that the two would be just as fragile as one another, yes?

[inevitablerest]

I don't require any instruction as to their workings. [Thanatos responds without looking Albedo's way. The poppy wilts then crumbles to dust between his fingers and he doesn't so much as twitch, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together for a moment before he lets his hand drop.]

Few understand death better than I. [As for life..? Well, one doesn't understand death without having an understanding of life also. He simply doesn't look at it in the same way that the Olympians do.

But just what does this person want?]

If you're looking for Dionysus, he isn't here.

✵ Vennessa

[vennessa]

✵ Raphael

[cupiditasmedendi]