Post-Event Reaction Log!

[lucetimods]

Who: Everybody
What: Post-Event Reactions
When: Today (and tomorrow too)
Where: Anywhere
Summary: Most of Luceti was back to their normal selves. Not only that, but they now remembered their trips to other worlds. So how 'bout that?
Rating: Whatever

This is for today and tomorrow, since not everyone will be fully reverted until then. Remember to tag your characters in!

Comments

[markofthebrave]

[...this was not a celebration.

This was not him picking her up and spinning her around and whooping for joy, like she'd imagined.

Katara felt dread begin to coil in her stomach.]

...sure.

[And she slowly disentangled herself from him.]

[generalflirt]

[Maybe I should have lied.

Maybe I should have given her the reception she wanted.

...

No, the real (original?) Katara would never have forgiven me.

All he can do is try to make this as easy as possible. All he can do is try to keep her as happy as he can be under this circumstances without betraying his real set of memories. Will she even remember- no. Of course she won't remember. A day that only lives on in their memories. Testing him. Confronting his mother. His birthday.]

What I want to do... and what I ought to do. Huh?

[He mutters that to himself as he turns to enter the apartment. It's tidy. Linda is on the couch sensing the mood is very odd. worth noting is that Masaomi named her Pii in the AU]

[markofthebrave]

[She shuts the door behind her, not quite catching that mutter. She doesn't need to in order to figure out that something was wrong.]

...you don't seem very happy.

[One would almost think that she'd ask 'You don't love me anymore?' - but the knowledge of his love for her has been her constant for months now. She doesn't even think to question that his feelings could have changed.]

[generalflirt]

..I've had a rather surprising morning.

[he rolls his shoulders. What he ought to do. What he wants to do.

...They really aren't all that different, are they. Composing himself once more, he turns to her]

...I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you.

[markofthebrave]

[She comes quite close to him, puts her hand on his arm.]

Tell me what's wrong.

[We can fix it.

We can do anything.]

[generalflirt]

[He smiles a bit, in spite of himself. He doesn't make a move to touch her, but despite all of the pain. All of the suffering. That touch warms him. He just hopes... he doesn't ruin everything in this moment. He hopes]

Aang- [He's hard. He chokes the -kun] is back to normal, right? That's good... that's... fantastic, even.

...But. I'm also back... to normal.

[markofthebrave]

[Katara's not an idiot.

She can put things together quickly enough and she freezes.]

But... you and I were always normal.

[generalflirt]

[...] Normal might not even be the right word, at this point. Ah, no... my vocabulary's failing me a little. I suppose it's what you call "through the looking glass," huh?

[...] I'm from Tokyo, Katara. I'm not a prince.

[markofthebrave]

[The first stage of grief is denial.

And his words hit her like a punch to the gut, but they don't make her skip this step.

Her hand slides right off him.]

No, you're not.

[generalflirt]

I- [His voice breaks a bit] I am. [What does he even say?]

["Sorry"

No.

Hug her. No. Hold her. No. she looks so fragile, he has to do something]

[markofthebrave]

[The second stage of grief is anger.]

But I remember you!

[Her eyes feel hot.

Why would he say this - Masaomi wouldn't say this - he wouldn't hurt her.

Not if it wasn't true.

How could it be true?]

[generalflirt]

I know. [errors. that robot had said there were errors. There was a chance for ERRORS.

Katara is.

Goddamn them]

[markofthebrave]

How could you know if you don't remember too?

[generalflirt]

Because I remembered the last week. I remember... living as someone else.

[And he brushes his hair. to show her that there's the earring there as subtly as he can]

[markofthebrave]

[Just like all the other experiments.

Masaomi wouldn't wear earrings.

There is no appeal she can make, no oath that she knows, no place she can reach to for strength as Katara feels her heart begin to break. Her shoulders hunch and her eyes fill with tears.]

Someone else - you're someone else?

[She shakes her head.

The third stage of grief is bargaining.]

But you can't be.

[generalflirt]

I... [...what does he even say to that? Is he someone else? To Katara, yes. To his own standards... no. As far as his memories of that other Masaomi go he had his struggles yes, but nowhere near what he had. Nothing of what he has suffered. His eyes go wide at the pain on Katara's face. He takes a tentative step closer to her.

...It might be a mistake] ...I'm Masaomi Kida. I- I'm not the one from Omashu. [...] But I still- ["would do anything for you."

...He'd still break both their hearts. Linda's lost on this scene, but for once knows to keep quiet and keep out]

[markofthebrave]

[Masaomi Kida.

She starts to reach a hand up to his face in a play for reassurance when she realizes--]

I don't know you.

[It's said on a breath as her insides coil tighter and tighter around this sudden emptiness, to the point where she almost wants to double over from pain. Her hand drops down to her side as she searches his eyes intently for anything of the man she loved. Her voice is low, the words almost unintentional:]

What am I to you?

[generalflirt]

You... [His throat constricts. He can't take it anymore. His eyes widen, looking at that face and as that happens, tears stream openly down his face. He's crying? Of course he's crying.

How do I even answer this?

With a lie. With the truth. With both. With what she wants to hear.

...With the truth]

You are... Ah. "Katara" is the dearest person to me in this whole damnable world we're in now.

[markofthebrave]

[She catches that distinction. "Katara" is dear to him. And she is -- what? She's nothing. She's an echo.

He's crying and she can't comfort him because he thinks she isn't real.

She's falling apart and he can't touch her because he's a stranger.

Katara stumbles two steps backwards, her hand going up to her mouth before she turns around. Her shoulders shake with quiet sobs.]

[generalflirt]

[...When she stumbles back and turns around, he considers what to do. He could go to the journal, report the error now. He could say something dramatic. But he's hearing her sobbing, he's watching her break. And it's in a split second that he comes to the important question- What's the right thing to do?

He glances at Linda. He glances hard from her to the journal. Perhaps sensing that he's saying, the mouse complies and leaps from the couch to go get the journal off the table. As for Masaomi himself though...

Even if it kills me, this will be worth it.

He goes and tries to hug this Katara from behind]

[markofthebrave]

[He comes up behind her and the feel of him is the same, it's the exact same as when he'd done as much a few nights ago, and it's her instinctive response to his embrace to lean back into him.

But.

He's a stranger.

Tokyo, what does she know about Tokyo? Some Earth city, right? Earrings in his ears, no beard - the guy Sokka said was a creep, that's who's holding her right now. More babyfaced - ha, they'd laughed about it.

She lets loose a ragged sob and frantically tries to escape his arms.]

Let go - I can't - let go!

[generalflirt]

[...And it backfires. Of course it backfires. He holds the grip only long enough for him to say the following:] Thank you.

[And then he releases it, and with tears streaming down his face, really regardless of anything she throws at him or if she treats or whatever (as Linda is bring the journal)] ...Thank you, for giving the Masaomi you knew a chance. [...Sob] Thank you for making him so, so happy. [Linda, by now, has the journal at his feet. Good.]

[markofthebrave]

[She coils in on herself protectively when he lets go-- she doesn't know what to say. It's all she can do to keep herself from screaming.

She's a lie? He's gone - forever? There isn't anything she can do to stop it? There's nothing for her to fight?

She can't just give up, but when she glances behind her and sees the face that is so dear to her in so much pain... stranger or not, Katara gives a few choking sobs and tries to pull herself together.]

Don't--

[Don't you talk about him like he's gone.

Don't you dare.

She needs to be - means to be comforting. But really, the best she can do is cut off those words and try to curtail her sobbing.]

[generalflirt]

[...and of course her face is like that. Of course she's sobbing. Of course she's probably even more of a wreck than he is now. Oddly enough, it gives him the strength to do what he does next. Albeit, what he does next he needs to speak himself through] ...You know, I don't know if I ever made this promise to you, ah. I... probably didn't have to, did I? [He crouches down.] But, I made a promise to "Katara," one which said I would do anything for her.

[And he takes the journal in hand from Linda, who stands there, not sure where to go next.] Anything at all. [And now holding the journal he begins to flip through the pages. His face is... dead. He's still crying, but he's so broken at this point he doesn't even know what his facial expression is] ...You know, he never lied to you, I think. Not about the worlds he couldn't imagine.

[I love you.

...Ah, here it is. He presses record and-]

Hey, bastards. I'm reporting that Katara has an error. ...She still remembers me being from her world.

[markofthebrave]

[Every word he says lands hard on her heart. How could it not? He was talking about him, talking about the differences and the similarities, and Katara was so distraught, so intent on what he was saying, that she didn't realize what he was doing until he pushed record and began to speak.]

No-- wait!

[She didn't want to give him up. Not so soon.

But she was too late. He'd already sent it. And she was left deflated - hollow. She slumped back against the closed door.]