sticksandbones | We know where we're going, but we don't know where we've been

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We know where we're going, but we don't know where we've been | OPEN

Who: Ryan Akagi and You!
What: Newbie Catch-all
When: February
Where: Mostly the inn unless we wildcard something
Warnings: None, will add if that changes.

A. The New Music Man (Lobby, any time)
[Ryan doesn't love being stuck in another weird dimension again, but this place has two great perks over the Wormhole Judgement Line. The first is that he gets to wear his own clothes instead of that stupid prison jumpsuit, but the second is even more important to him - he showed up with his guitar and got to keep it from the start.

He can often be found in the lobby playing and practicing, even though he doesn't have an amp or even any way to plug an amp in. He's claimed the comfiest chair he can find and sprawled himself out horizontally over the arms, playing whatever comes to mind in odd, soft twangs. He practices this way a lot, so it isn't much of a hindrance or anything.

When someone comes over to listen or investigate, Ryan will eventually look up - he doesn't mind being disturbed and happily chats up anyone who chats with him.]

Oh! Hey! Got any requests?

B. That Unsettling Tree (Lobby, whenever)
[It was good to be able to get outside after that whole deadly blizzard thing that was going on when he first arrived, but the good didn't last long. It's just constantly nighttime now, all the time, and being anywhere near that weird tree and its...roots? Webs? Whatever, being anywhere near it just makes Ryan sad and lonely in a way he can't fully articulate. He's felt it before though; he's sure he has.

Sometimes you'll catch him peeking out the window, trying to make any sense out of all of this. If you join him, he'll pick your brain - assuming that you've been here longer than he has.]

So...is it just always creepy here, or what?

C. Something Borrowed and Blue (Ryan and Min's room, 2/14, Closed to Min-Gi)
[Ryan has no idea what's come over him, but he's sure he lost something.

What did he lose? No idea! But it was super important and he knows it was here. It was right here, somewhere! He tears apart every inch of his side of the room (and maybe a little of Min-Gi's side too, but he tries to be more careful. Even the mattress gets flipped off the bed, and furniture is moved around. Stuff gets dropped on the floor, and Ryan can feel himself stress more and more about it, as though this mystery item is the end of the world.

Then, he sees a glint of something shiny underneath the bed, stuck in the floorboards, and he knows that has to be it. He pushes the bed aside at a weird angle, picks it up, and feels instant relief that doesn't fully feel like his own. But it's fine now, because he can still give this to...

...to...to M--?

His thought trails off and the emotion attached to it dissipates. When he looks down, there's a ring in his hand. It's a simple band, with a blue stone, and-- something engraved in it? Ryan squints and looks closer.]

...My Star?

[Huh. Weird pet name, but it's kind of cute? He tries it on out of curiosity, but it's a little bit too big. It's at that moment though that he hears someone opening the door, and realizes with a start that Min-Gi is going to walk in on their room looking like a crime scene with Ryan sitting in the middle of it.]

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[Nervousness is rolling off of Min-Gi in waves now, and it catches Ryan's attention. But when Min pulls out another ring, his eyes go wide.]

Woah.

[He fishes in his pocket and moves closer, holding out the ring so they can look at them side by side. It's odd - they don't match, but they sort of do, in an opposites sort of way? Similar style, but one is red and gold and the other is silver and blue. Side by side though, they look like they belong together.]

They look like wedding rings...mine even has something written inside it - My Star?

[He looks to Min curiously. Does it sound familiar to him? Because it doesn't ring a bell to Ryan. In fact, he goes so far as to ignore all of the signs that these are tied to them at all. The compulsion to find it, the relief, he stashes it all away.]

Someone probably lost them. And if they were staying here before us it was probably like, a while ago.

[It's weird. Too weird. Min stares at them, side by side. Ryan's probably right about what they are. They really do look like they belong together.]

My Sun...

[That's what the inside of his ring reads. At this point there's no denying they're a set whether they're wedding rings or not.

It still doesn't explain everything, but Min-Gi nods, more than willing to forget all the other weirdness about the way they found them.]

I guess we should listen out for anyone missing rings. Maybe they don't know they left the silver one here.

[And there's no way they'd be able to guess the gold ring is here.]

Yeah - or that the gold one got dropped outside. They're probably looking for them...if they're still here, anyway.

[Something about giving the ring away feels wrong though. He wants to hold onto it, but he admonishes himself for it before any stray feelings can catch up. That's shitty of him. If it's someone else's they'll want it back. He can't just keep it forever and wait for...something.

Doesn't matter. He smiles at Min-Gi!]

We'll just have to hang onto them for now, so they don't get lost again! It would totally suck to be like "Hey, we have your rings!" and then we can't find them either.

Probably.

[That doesn't sound right, but for once Min-Gi doesn't argue. That's just asking to be forced to answer questions he doesn't want to think too hard on.]

We could put them in the dresser? If we wrap them up they shouldn't move about.

[Part of him hopes they don't find the owners, but that's silly. It makes no sense to already feel so attached to something he only just found. They don't belong to them, and whoever does own them is probably missing them of they are still around.]

[It doesn't sound right to Ryan either, but...better than getting rid of them, right? It's so weird to want to keep them, but he does. He really, really does.]

Yeah, totally.

[Is he listening? Unclear from that answer! But Ryan picks his ring back up and turns it over in his hand, looking at it some more.]

My Star and My Sun...they're pretty cute pet names. I wonder who these belonged to?

[Min-Gi laughs nervously, hand clamping shut around the ring. He doesn't want to get rid of it, but thinking too hard about it is definitely making him uncomfortable.]

I don't know. I guess we'll find out if we find anyone missing rings.

[He kind of hopes they don't, but that is so not something he's willing to think about right now. Maybe it's just because of how strange everything has been lately anyway.]

We should put them away. It's going to take a while to put everything back.

[--Oh. Min-Gi's uncomfortable, for some reason. That's enough for Ryan to pull his attention back where he's pretty sure it's supposed to be.]

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. We don't want them to get lost. You said in the dresser, right?

[Ryan sets his on top of the dresser, since Min said something about wrapping them?]

Sorry again for trashing the place. No one's going to come yell at us but if they do you can totally blame me for all of it.

[Which he should, because it was his fault, but that isn't what Ryan means. He means Min-Gi doesn't have to theoretically get kicked out with him over it.]

[It doesn't make sense to be so ill at ease with such innocuous comments, but he is. It's a relief that Ryan seems to drop it without question. He's become a lot better at knowing when Min needs that.]

Maybe. I think as long as it's somewhere safe it doesn't matter where they go.

[The dresser does seem like a good idea though. There isn't much around the rooms, but Min does still have some scraps of paper from the lanterns. That could work. At least temporarily.]

[Ryan nods. That sentiment calms the nagging feeling that it needs to be given to someone. What's even more important is keeping them safe, for whoever they belong to.]

Sounds good, man. We'll hang onto them and then when we hear someone's missing wedding rings, we'll have them right here.

[He gives Min a friendly clap on the shoulder when he says this. See? They figured it out! And everything's going to be fine.]

[For some reason the clap on his shoulder makes him jump. There's no reason for him to be so uncomfortable with it. Ryan's just being friendly, the way he always is. It must be residual weirdness from discovering the rings. Maybe something to do with the strange way they'd been drawn to them. He's sure if they give it a few hours they'll both be feeling more themselves.]

Yeah. I bet they'll be glad when they find out they're safe.

[Min doesn't mention how conflicted the thought of someone claiming them leaves him as he wraps them or, or the flicker of sadness when he can no longer see them. There's no point worrying Ryan with something he isn't sure he could even begin to explain.]

[This is probably true. Ryan is feeling almost the opposite about it all though - he's great at pushing past the weird vibes the rings gave him, but the moment he's alone with his thoughts again it'll be all he can think about.

He doesn't seem too offended by Min jumping at his touch (but he does laugh at him, just a little). Mercifully, he actually changes the subject completely. ...Or almost completely.]

Soooo, did you find anything cool out there other than other people's jewelry?

[He still seems distracted as he places the rings carefully into the drawer and closes it, taking a moment to fully register what Ryan's asking him.]

Oh. Not really. I guess I got pretty distracted.

[Which isn't like him. Not when there are important things he should be doing. Perpetual darkness or not they need to learn more about this place if they want to stand any chance of getting out of here.]

[It really isn't like Min at all. Ryan isn't upset about it though, just concerned for him.]

Hey, Min? Are...you okay?

[For now the rings are out of sight, which means they need to be out of mind, and Ryan is searching Min's face for any signs of something else wrong. He should probably just wait for Min to tell him, but he does let one guess sneak out.]

We don't have to figure everything out all at once. And I got pretty distracted too if that helps?

[It probably doesn't. Ryan tends to get distracted a lot.]

[Ryan does get distracted a lot, but Min knows he's trying so he refrains from pointing that out.]

I'm fine. The rings just...

[He shrugs, delaying answering by surveying the room. Even with the number Ryan had done on it there's surprisingly little left to tidy now the furniture's back in place. That's one upside of having accumulated so little.]

I don't know. I guess I just hoped there'd be more answers out there.

[It's a wonder what putting the mattress back and making a bed can do to a trashed room. They don't have a whole lot between them, so there wasn't much to put away.

Since it's basically done now, Ryan sits down on the edge of the bed, leaving plenty of space for Min to join him.]

There probably are, man. Just because you didn't find them in one shot doesn't mean we won't ever find them.

[Ryan glances up thoughtfully.]

...Maybe we need to find like...this world's Kez? Not literally but, you know-- There's got to be someone around who knows what's up, right? Or maybe someone who's from here?

[It's tempting to pick up the few things that are still scattered across the floor, but he sees the space and knows Ryan left it for him. He only hesitates for a moment before taking the seat next to him.]

Yeah. Maybe. It just sucks that this happened when we were finally starting to get somewhere.

[It doesn't seem fair. They've worked so hard since they got off the train. Neither of them had expected to wind up in some strange new place again, especially somewhere completely new.

The mention of Kez does get a light chuckle out of Min, at least.]

Kez would be just as clueless as we are, but maybe. I guess we should try asking around more. It does seem like most people here are friendlier than they were on the train.

[It does suck. But the fact that they've been through it already and come out the other side is why they're able to talk about it now, before the frustration builds too much.]

Yeah. And like, not that I want a number again, but at least that gave us an idea how we were doing, you know?

[Sure sometimes the only idea they got was "you're doing the worst anyone has ever done" but at least it was something. He brightens when Min confirms everyone's been friendly.]

Dude, we've been here a little bit and no one's tried to murder us! This place is like the Wormhole Friendliness Capital!

[Is that a thing? Probably not, but he's making it a thing.]

[It's not really funny, but he's finally starting to feel lighter with the rings out of sight. They're still on his mind, of course, but it's easier to at least make the attempt to distract themselves with them put away. Min still laughs at the absurdity of Wormhole Friendliness Capital, some of the tension starting to disappear from his shoulders.]

Yeah. It's kinda weird, right? But I guess it's better than immediately having to run from everyone we meet.

[It's just as well since there isn't exactly anywhere to run to here.]

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