❀ yoo joonghyuk

[cranelike]

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Week 0, Tuesday

[cranelike]

(After some very exciting morning updates, Tsurumaru will wander off and go his own way. It looks like everyone has something to think about, hm? This is a really serious update and something everyone should consider seriously. So what does Tsurumaru do when he sees Joonghyuk?)

Are you ready to die?

(Don't say that with such a cheerful face and tone.)

[malewife]

[ Turning to him, he's quiet at first then...

He swiftly grabs Tsurumaru by the neck and holds him up. ]

[cranelike]

(Eyes go wide with surrpise but there isn't any actual panic. When all is said and done, he looks as calm as ever in his hands. If anything, he looks amused? No, excited is the better word,)

Ah!

(Just an elated little gasp,)

Very nice.

w0 thursday, pre-curfew

[malewife]

[ Somewhere they probably are crossing again, this time Joonghyuk is dressed in his usual outfit and his sword hanging off his hip. He still remember the Betrayal, but he can put that aside for now. ]

You're an actual sword.

[ He thought it was just a choice of naming soldiers. ]

[cranelike]

(Tsurumaru was betrayed twice before he turned sides.

He's changed into his regular clothes sans armor for now. Kiku shifts from magpie to crane before... hiccuping?? and turning into an otter. Hm.)

Are you surprised?

[malewife]

... No. I have seen and met plenty of people.

[ He really has, to be honest. ]

You don't seem to be protective of your true identity.

w1 thursday

[malewife]

[ WHEREVER TSURUMARU IS, Joonghyuk will be here with Niah because he sought him out. ]

I was wondering where you went... And a surprise it is.

[ stupid surprise bird ]

[cranelike]

(Let's say he's gotten his clothes washed and he's trying to get it to dry out more and is hanging it up somewhere to dry a bit or something.)

You were looking for me~?

[malewife]

… Don’t think too much on it.

[ It’s not that big of a deal! Okay. He’s curious about the trip from multiple account.

He crosses his arms while Niah’s tail flicks back and forth. ]

You’re fine to be out and about?

[ Injuries okay? ]

w1 saturday, post-trial

[malewife]

[ Joonghyuk is in the solar!! Just looking through some books. His wolf daemon is padding after him, well-behaved and everything.

Tsurumaru may find him here, thanks. ]

[cranelike]

(Once again, staying out of reach as usual........... )

Are you trying to find something?

(In the books? Kiku is on his shoulder! One of her usual perches.)

[malewife]

Maybe. I never know when something useful will show itself.

[ He looks up and sees that Tsurumaru is... Out of reach??? ]

Are you scared?

w2 wednesday, post-event

[malewife]

[ me, trying to make timelines easier for us. After the mini event, Joonghyuk is pensive somewhere… Thinking. He’s holding onto those message bottles, though it’s empty, but unfortunately for everyone there’s a strange piece of glass inside it.

A memory plays. CW: suicide ideation.

This is the 1863rd regression... Your 1864th life and you've accepted the proposal from your leader to become the villain of this story, the enemy of the world. You betrayed everyone that loved you to kindle the flames of hatred. You kill off your emotions so you can attack anyone and everyone in your path. You do this because she promised you that she will find you a grave.

She said if she could gather everyone under one banner, then she will be able to find a way to end your regressions. She's reliable. She's resourceful. Cunning... You trust her.

You play your role.

You stand at one of the tallest peaks of Seoul where the apocalypse dragon is sealed. All you need to do is use the sword in your hand to "unseal" it, though you know better. Your leader's plan is to use a different sword than what was prophesized. Instead of releasing the dragon, it would instead expand the seal to engulf the whole world.

... The scenarios would stop. Everything would stop. You would stop. Finally, this world can be untouched by the scenarios, lulled into a deep sleep.

You're stuck in your misery, following orders like the minion you are, but as you approach the seal, a clear thought comes to mind. It's a name in the haze. One of the people who fights in the backdrop against your leader and your former companions. That's right, there's a battle here. It's hard for you to tell when your senses are so muddled. All you know how to do is destroy and kill. You have no target here, only a mission.

While your leader and former companions only have animosity for you, this man doesn't. He looks at you like you're a person, like you're human.

「 Kim Dokja. 」

You turn to look at Kim Dokja, this anamoly of a man that showed up out of nowhere and showed you a world you've never seen... You grip your Heaven Shaking Sword as you recollect what you saw that night when you threatened this entity that lived inside the other man. The Fourth Wall told you of a beautiful story when you interrogated it. It was a world where no one you loved needed to be sacrificed... A world where you didn't need to be a villain. For this moment, you forget about the scenario and the apocalypse dragon that dares to wake.

You break out of your sea of despair and your senses sharpen. The world doesn't seem so much like a blur and you can see the other man's face properly. The monotone colors are washed away as color starts to fill everything in. You don't say anything. Instead, you only piece together words in your mind—for some reason, you're sure Kim Dokja can hear you.

「 The world that you showed, does it really exist? 」

Kim Dokja doesn't answer you, but his mouth is agape as he tries to find the words. Your leader shouts why are you hesitating. Use the sword to expand the seal. Didn't you ask her to put an end to this all? Didn't you want to die?

You turn to her.

“I want to die.”

They're such familiar words... They haunt your mind almost every single day for the past tens of thousands of years. But this time, there's something else. Something familiar, though it shines so much brighter than you've ever experienced.

「 I want to live. 」

“I want to finish it here.”

「 If there is a chance, like the world I saw… 」

A part of you can't help but hope... And that part of you is the one who wins. You no longer want to be a character in a story. You want to write your own ending. A happy one. Just like the world Kim Dokja came from—the 3rd regression round where Kim Dokja exists.

He frowns, aware of what’s happening, but doesn’t say anything. ]

[cranelike]

(He feels heavy, like he's bearing so much more time than he already is. It catches him off guard and he finds himself bracing for the memory that unfolds.

There are things that feel familiar even if they are different. To be bound by misery, to only follow orders, to not think of anything more than he needs to. And if he's honest with himself, he can relate to that single want-- that one desire-- that he carries through it all. It's all different, like someone copying the same image with different mediums. The end result is surely different and yet, you can tell it's the same subject.

He doesn't like it and he can already feel the urge to act out overcome him until that name breaks through, bringing new life and hope, and actual color to the world.

(even that feels vaguely familiar)

When the memory fades, Tsurumaru manages to keep his composure. What betrays him is his silence. It takes him a while to respond as he processes and understands what he saw and felt. There are some things he will never understand. Things he thinks he'd rather not try right now.)

... I thought you were a survivor.

(An edgy one.)

[malewife]

[ He raises his eyebrows at Tsurumaru. A part of him dislikes his memories being drawn out to be seen by others. He has already lived a world that's mere entertainment the gods... Privacy is a luxury. Even if they're listened in by the Watchers every once in a while, it's quiet here. Quieter than home.

Still, he doesn't enjoy this. Or having to see someone else's memories without their consent. The last thing he wants is to see someone's story told by something or someone else. ]

I am. I'm alive.

w3 wednesday

[malewife]

[ After the events, Joonghyuk is chilling by the oasis. Niah, his daemon now in black jaguar form, is resting in the waters! He is enjoying himself. ]

[cranelike]

(AFTER EVENTS

Kiku is going to fly ahead of Tsurumaru and land right in the water, SHe seems relieved. Tsurumaru will follow not far behind, wearing his rober over his shoulders, the cloak pull over his head to offer some protecting from the sun,)

Ah, its Joonghyuk again. I'm not even surprised anymore...

[malewife]

[ Niah looks at Kiku, then rests his head so that maybe she can rest next to him? He wants touch... It is cuddle week. ]

Will that mean you're going to leave?

[ Because you're bored? ]

Week 4, Tuesday (Death Masquerade)

[cranelike]

(At the ball, the Watcher dressed in blue watches Yoo Joonghyuk.)

[malewife]

[ Watches? Back? ]

[cranelike]

(Sways!

Because if he's going to be dead, he's going to go full cryptid i guess.)

Week 7, pre-End Game!!

[cranelike]

(Suddenly, without any prompting.)

So you've survived.

[malewife]

Somehow, yes.

[ Yup. ]

And you're still here.

w7 saturday, post-"trial" in the GRAVEYARD

[malewife]

[ They are going on a tour of this bomb deadland? Joonghyuk is looking around. ]

There's still little color here.

[cranelike]

(They are going on a tour!! There isn't much to see but he'll at least show off his home for the last few weeks?)

It's brighter than what I expected! My last grave was quite dark.

(Just Tsurumaru Kuninaga Things.)