kaisou | UN: Zodiac | March into March

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UN: Zodiac | March into March

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Libra App
WHEN: March 1st
WHAT: Zodiac Network Post
WARNINGS: None!

[As we move into March, the spring winds begin to blow. It's still rather cold tonight, but it'll warm up as the month goes on. The spirit vein's colors change to brilliant shades of green to represent the wind element. Everyone's devices will emit a soothing wind chime sound as a new Zodiac post appears. The chime will sound even if you have your phone turned off or on silent, and will not stop until you read their message and comment to it.]

Nicholas, Husk, Opal, Navia, Argenti, Rosalina, Hua Cheng, Choso, Samuel, and Caleb has joined the app. Say hi everyone!

Arthur

Arthur, Mercedes, Souta,, and Nacht have left the app.

[The post then continues on.]

Hello and thank you for using the Libra app.

March is marching onward and the city has plenty of fun in store for the month! As always, we will be celebrating Celtic heritage with St David's Day and St. Patrick's Day celebrations to get into the spirit of this month! Be sure to enjoy the delicious food and drink on offer! Spring Equinox will also arrive this month, we hear interesting celebrations will be held on Cathedral Hill which promises to be fun for the whole family.

Our seers have advised us that we may be getting another visit from the fae this month. As they are known to be tricky customers, we have created a useful how-to guide to save strained relationships and potential soul stealing. You want to be safe out there, after all!

- DO NOT give them your real name.
= DO NOT lie to them
- DO NOT step into a fairy ring [IMAGE ATTACHED]
- DO speak to them politely
- DO give them honey
- DO let them inside your home and be hospitable

With these handy guides, we should be able to have a peaceful visit from our yearly visitors! Let's be mindful of each other's cultures and we are sure no mishaps will occur this time.

That's all for now! We'll leave you off with our icebreaker question.

This post is sponsored by Victory Road Sporting Goods! Enjoy spring with your best friend with our new pet supply collection!

[Users will have the option to choose their own display names and userpics if they haven't already. If nothing is chosen, the app will use their real name and a quick photo taken of them from their camera's phone.

Like always, there will be no responses from Zodiac.

OOC Note: If you haven't responded to AC, you still have until 11:59am EST tomorrow to do so! Once you do, you'll be removed from this post. ]

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[ lunae.

it is the first thing his eyes fall upon and he feels a pain bloom behind his eyes. lunae, lunae, imibitor lunae, dan feng-- jing yuan hisses as his phone falls from his grasp, clattering loudly on the floor below him. a hand reaches up and buries itself in his hair as faces and names flash past his vision; he knows that name, he knows that name, that face. why does he know that face? before he knows it mimi has made his way over to him, pushing his way onto jing yuan's lap to begin purring loudly, and jing yuan leans down to bury his face into the cat's silky coat. dan feng. yingxing. baiheng. jingliu. their faces flash as clear as day, distant laughter echoing in his ears. he lost them so long ago, of five friends he was the one left behind, the only one not to be carried away by the winds.

but they came back, did they not? the cloudstrider's chromatic echelon brought back dan feng-- no, dan heng. his old friend is no more, born again into a life no longer shackled by the mistakes of his predecessor. is this how it feels? jing yuan wonders, listening to the soothing purrs of his cat, to be reincarnated? how did the vidyadhara do this time and time again?

he isn't certain how much time has passed by the time the pain ebbs away and he can sit up straight once more, collecting his phone from where it had fallen. mimi remains seated in his lap, tail flicking lazily as jing yuan looks over the message once again. ]

Dan Heng. What a strange twist of fate this is.

[ hmm, gil was right. ]

I am no stranger to such happenings and should be able to take it all in stride. The app was a surprise, if I am honest, but it has allowed me to reconnect with old friends and for that I am thankful.

[That phrasing makes Dan Heng think that Jing Yuan has remembered at least something of their shared history. He's not sure how to feel about it. Relieved? Happy? ...Sad? Maybe fate has decided that they can't fully escape their complicated past.

Well... he's defied it before, and so has Blade. Perhaps this time can be the same.]

Mm... that's certainly one way to put it.

[If the 'old friends' is inclusive of Dan Heng, he doesn't see it himself. He's not so sure Jing Yuan would be happy to technically reconnect with him, all things considered. A little voice in the back of his head questions if he's even doing the right thing by talking to Jing Yuan or if it would be best to just... leave him well enough alone. He's hurt him enough, hasn't he?]

It's done the same for me, funnily enough.

[Dan Heng feels awkward all of a sudden. He hesitates before toggling on the private filter, and then he hesitates some more in the message he wishes to send. He reads it over and over and over again, second-guessing himself if it's even right of him to ask or if it's awkward or or or—]

I don't know how much you remember, but I know it must be... a lot. There are other familiar faces here that I wanted to let you know about. However, there's something I thought I should ask you first.

Are you okay? ...In general and with... talking to me.

[He hesitates and agonizes and then hits send before he can throw his phone into the nearest ravine. Or do something else he would instantly regret, like request for an immediate transfer to another assignment.]

[ fate is as kind as she is cruel, to reunite him with both new friends and old. are they forever fated to cross each other's paths like this but never join? he breathes out, leaning back into the couch he is seated, one hand scratching the maine coon seated so comfortably in his lap behind an ear.

should he not be the one asking that? is dan heng okay with speaking to him? or would he rather jing yuan leave him in peace?

the memories trickle back in like drops of light rain; he sees the prison, the shackles that bound a newly hatched dan heng, he feels the guilt eating away at his very soul as he makes the case to free him. it was the least he could do.

jing yuan breathes out, hitting the button to switch from text to voice, and braces himself. ]

I remember only pieces of a much larger puzzle, but it is I who should be asking if you are okay speaking to me. I do not want to disturb everything you have managed to build in this life.

[ in the background mimi can be heard purring, his phone balanced precariously on the large cat's side. ]

[Dan Heng sees the switch to voice and he sounds the same as in his memories. There's... a strange comfort to that. Yet he also sounds tired. Maybe it's the jetlag, but maybe there are other factors contributing to it. Dan Heng certainly remembers the exhaustion behind his gold eyes, even if Jing Yuan didn't think he noticed.

He wonders... are Jing Yuan's eyes as bright as the sun in this life still?

The Vidyadhara man sighs softly and then gathers his courage to switch to voice on his end. There's some soft humming from Cirrus, but she quiets down when he starts talking.]

I would not call this a disturbance, personally. Rather... it's simply a chance to start over with the same slate this time. I'm not the same person as the previous Imbibitor Lunae nor Dan Feng... but neither are you the same Arbiter-General Jing Yuan.

[He pauses in hesitation.]

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that... I want to know who you are in this life, but not if you don't want to know me in turn.

[At the end of the day, Dan Heng can't deny that Jing Yuan is an important aspect of his previous lives. One of Dan Feng's closest friends, and the General who did his best to support Dan Heng after his exile. Maybe even before it.]

[ he can't help the relief he feels upon hearing the other's voice, the familiar tones matching with what few memories have trickled through. there is uncertainty buried underneath it all, but he thinks he should expect nothing less. this... as familiar as the situation feels it is utterly different from the last time they met-- there is no emergency in need of solving, no greater threat looming on the horizon.

this is a first for the former arbiter-general and he is uncertain where he should stand. ]

Dan Heng... [ fondness clings to the other's name, lips curved into a tired smile as he covers his eyes with a hand. ] I do not think there will ever be a life where I do not wish to know you, of that much I am certain.

[ mimi flicks his tail again, purrs growing quieter as the cat appears to fall asleep. ]

[Dan Heng doesn't know how to take that comment, but he can feel his face going a bit pink. He... doesn't know what he's done to deserve three people from his past willing to take him back. He's grateful all the same, even if he feels undeserving. The Vidyadhara man closes his eyes briefly.]

Then... I am looking forward to getting to know you better in this life, Jing Yuan.

[He pauses for a moment and decides that he should try to lighten the mood a little. There's a vague memory that Jing Yuan had a cat of some kind in their past life.]

I do have a companion I would like you to meet some time soon. She's a creature known as a 'Pokémon.' Specifically an Altaria, as her kind are called. I've named her Cirrus. She's been with me since I joined POKEGO almost seven or so years ago.

I am also looking forward to getting to know you as well, Dan Heng.

[ he is sentimental to a fault, desperate to cling onto whatever fragments he can of those he lost. maybe this time they will not fall between his fingers, maybe this time he will be able to hold onto them instead of watching them crumble away into ash.

absently he scratches behind his cat's ears, shifting to spare his phone a momentary glance. ]

Cirrus? [ ... that name is oddly familiar. dan heng are you telling him you made a pokemon after a heliobus? ] That is... an interesting name. Something about it rings oddly familiar.

I would be happy to meet her, and for you to meet Mimi. [ it's strange, why did the image of a large white lion just appear in his head? did he... ] Although he is not as large or regal as you may remember.

[Considering Dan Heng's out in the middle of the Kanto woods, he decides to not worry Jing Yuan even more and texts an older picture of his Altaria to him. She's sitting on top of a laptop (closed, thankfully), which can barely be seen by her cloudlike body. She looks proud of herself.]

Does it? Hm... my only intention was to name her after a cloud type.

[He didn't know about the heliobus, he swears.

That earns Jing Yuan a soft huff of amusement from the Vidyadhara.]

He's your cat, which means he's still large and regal. I'll pick up some treats as an offering to your little prince when I visit.

A majestic creature, aptly named.

[ he's just gonna push aside that familiarity for a moment, or a while, because frankly the bird (???) looks just like a cloud and he wonders how it would feel to put his face directly into her feathers (???). ]

A thought for another time, perhaps.

[ especially as the subject has moved on to mimi, the bestest cat ever. ]

He would like that, you needn't fuss over what sort of treat to bring there is very little he will not eat.

[Cirrus suddenly chirps in the background, as if agreeing with Jing Yuan's assessment. There's a sudden, quiet laugh from Dan Heng. A rarity in their past lives, but that status is changing in this one. Slowly but surely.]

I'd be lost without her.

[His voice has a note of raw honesty to it.]

I see. That sounds familiar. [He pauses for a moment as a thought occurs to him.] ...How well does Mimi do with dogs?

[Yes, Dan Heng's about to rat Blade out with not even a shred of regret to Jing Yuan, but he is genuinely worried about Mimi's reaction to their favorite dogboy.]

[ it is a sound that jing yuan savors, a sound that he only realizes now he had not gotten to hear in a very long time. he had not heard any of them laugh ever since that day. he can only hope that this life will be kinder to them all. ]

Then I will have to thank her when we eventually meet. For taking care of you and staying by your side.

[ cirrus has many treats and gifts in her future. ]

Dogs? [ that gives him a moment of pause. ] Mimi does not mind them, there is very little that can truly phase him.

[That gets a smile from Dan Heng. It's important to him that his old friends get along with Cirrus, at least. Not that he thinks they wouldn't, but it's still a small anxiety.]

I recall that you tend to take many surprises in stride, but this will be... different. Since the app's download, Blade and I have both experienced changes that are more bestial, whether mundane or mythical. I have some mild changes that we theorize are that of a qilin. As for Blade....

[Jing Yuan will suddenly be getting a text with two pictures. One is Blade working on a gunpla with familiar, single-minded concentration with dog ears pricked forward and a tail behind him. The other picture is that of a sleeping pomsky.]

Blade is a pomsky.

[ haha what??? ]

[ for a moment there is nothing but silence and the occasional shuffle of movement as mimi does his best to encourage jing yuan to continue petting him, but then there is a noise; a definite sound of a man doing his best to suppress the laughter that dares to burst forth.

in truth, he would have easily believed dan heng no matter what he had said, regardless of whether he had sent photo evidence to back up his claims.

seeing the photo evidence is just... another thing entirely. that familiar look of single-minded concentration with the dog ears and tail tickles him. ]

I see. [ a beat. ] The ears suit him.

[ how utterly adorable. ]

[Dan Heng hears that sound and he decides to try for a laugh.]

Mm. He does respond as one would expect to being called a good boy.

[A pause.]

And the tail ruins any hope he has of being intimidating. It starts wagging into a blur when he tries. He's knocked over several objects that way. I haven't yet tried the trick of pretending to throw the ball, yet, but he does play fetch even as a human.

You heard none of this from me.

Is that so?

[ the laughter is a little hard to keep at bay, but dammit he is doing his best. he is also totally not filing away that knowledge to be used at a later date, not at all. jing yuan would never do such a thing. ]

Of course, what was it we were talking about? [ a beat. ] I am glad you found each other again, and that I have found you both again in turn. All these long years it felt as though I was missing something, it wasn't until today that I finally realized what it was.

[ he takes a deep breath, allowing those words to sit in the air for a moment before continuing. ]

After I have settled in I will come visit you both.

[Absolutely never, which is precisely why Dan Heng told Jing Yuan all of this and swore him to secrecy on the informant. They deserve to be brats at each other again... at least until Dan Heng has to tell them to cut it out.

The words settle in the air and in the dragon's heart. He closes his eyes for a moment.]

You're staying for dinner, too, then. I've been cooking for everyone on the ship to have something to do. We have a lot to catch up on, and... I am looking forward to it.

[There's a soft, subtle warmth in his tone as he says that. Maybe a hint of wistfulness as well. Dan Feng's last thought being of the people he drank with has... haunted him for years. Perhaps now he can make that last wish come true in this new life.]

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UN: Zodiac | March into March

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